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The theosophical movement, 
1875-1925 


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THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


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THE THEOSOPHICAL 
MOVEMENT 


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A HISTORY AND A SURVEY 





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E. P. DUTTON & COMPANY 
681 FIFTH AVENUE 


CopYRIGHT, 1925 
BY E. P. DUTTON & COMPANY 





All Rights Reserved 


Printed in the United States of America 


“To all true Theosophists, in every coun- 
try and of every race, for they called it 
forth, and for them it was recorded.’’ 


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vi 





PREFACE 


There exists nowhere a collected and authentic recital 
of the Theosophical Movement of the nineteenth century. 
Yet, although a scant half century has elapsed since the 
foundation of The Theosophical Society at New York 
City, the work there begun has spread into all portions 
of the civilized world, until the word Theosophy is a 
familiar term to every educated mind. The teachings 
known under that name have been more or less investi- 
gated and adopted by millions, while its more earnest 
students who have accepted it as a complete and satis- 
factory explanation of all the problems of life, here and 
hereafter, are numbered by thousands in every country 
and of every race. 

In an indirect but none the less powerful manner the 
teachings of Theosophy have profoundly affected the 
ideas and ideals of the race on the great questions of 
ethics, of morality, of religion, philosophy and science, 
so that today it may be truly said that there is nothing 
worthy of the consideration of the human mind that has 
not been leavened by the injection of Theosophical leaven. 
It is not too much, therefore, to affirm that the direct and 
indirect influence of Theosophy upon humanity in the 
course of a single generation has been greater than that 
of any other system ever promulgated, during as many 
centuries as the Theosophical Movement numbers dec- 
ades. And the Movement can as yet scarcely be said to 
have passed the stage of its germinal impulsion. 

The record of the Theosophical Movement is scattered 
through thousands upon thousands of pages of books, 
magazines, newspapers, pamphlets and other documents. 
Many of these are extremely controversial in character, 
many inaccurate, many contradictory and confusing. The 
attempt to study, digest, collate and compare the im- 

vil 


viii PREFACE 


mense literature of the subject is a monumental under- 
taking. The writers have spent many years in connec- 
tion with the work of the Theosophical Movement, and 
their opportunities and facilities have been greater than 
most. Yet they know only too well the impossibility of 
doing anything like justice to the subject, or of affording 
satisfactory replies to all questions of the sincere stu- 
dent of its complexities. The very nature of the subject 
forbids. For Theosophy, the Theosophical Movement, 
and the real and true Theosophical Society have, each of 
them, an esoteric as well as an exoteric side, and the 
latter can never be fully grasped and understood but 
through the former. 

Some of this hidden side can be touched upon, some 
documents referred to, some indications submitted, some 
deductions offered for the consideration of the reflective 
mind, but for by far the most important portion of the 
esoteric aspect the student must rely upon his own in- 
tuition: for the hidden side of Theosophy can only be 
arrived at through the hidden nature of the student 
himself. 

Still another difficulty that confronts alike the writers 
and the sincere student is the fact that many of those 
who were active in the lifetime of the parent Theosophi- 
cal Society are still living and now prominent, both in 
the public eye, and as leaders and exponents of the many 
conflicting theosophical and occult societies that have 
sprung up in the past twenty-five years, since the death 
of the original society. All these antagonistic organiza- 
tions have their devoted adherents, their own particular 
tenets and claims of pre-eminence and successorship. The 
situation exactly parallels that of the early centuries of 
Christianity. Rival pretensions to apostolic succession, 
to knowledge, to authority, and to the possession of the 
keys to the teachings of the Founders confront the in- 
quirer. The danger is imminent that if a better knowl- 
edge and understanding of the real teachings of The- 
osophy, the real mission of the Theosophical Movement, 
and the real facts in connection with the history of the 
Parent Theosophical Society, are not made available for 


PREFACE is 


all those who may become interested, the fate that has 
long since overtaken Brahminism, Buddhism and Chris- 
tianity will inevitably befall the great Message of H. P. 
Blavatsky. 

For all the reasons expressed and implied, an acces- 
sible record of the facts, as accurate a survey of their 
significance and bearing on the present and on the future 
as possible, is of the utmost moment to all sincere stu- 
dents and to all earnest enquirers. Themselves members 
of none of the existing organizations, but profoundly 
convinced of the surpassing value of the noble philosophy 
of Theosophy, the writers are moved to this attempt to 
aid the unimpeded flow of the great stream of the The- 
osophical Movement, not so much by any belief in their 
own especial ability as by the conviction that that flow 
is being impeded and corrupted by the partisanship and 
pretensions of the leading exponents of the existing 
societies. It is therefore addressed, not to any society or 
societies, but to all true Theosophists, whether members 
of any of the existing organizations or of none, and to 
all true enquirers everywhere, who may be willing to ac- 
cept truth wherever it may be found, and to defend it, 
even looking popular prejudice—and their own—straight 
in the face. 

For the rest, it may be added that the Sytuasus which 
precedes the text will, it is hoped, be found, both by the 
general reader and the serious student, to be more satis- 
factory than an index. The abundant direct citations and 
the collateral references included in the text render 
superfluous a separate bibliography and will, it is thought, 
enable those so minded to verify at first hand every minor 
as well as major subject discussed. 


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CHAPTER 


XVI. 


XVIT. 
XVIII. 
XIX. 
XX, 
XXI. 


CONTENTS 


CHANNELS OF THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT . 
THe PARENT THEOSOPHICAL SOCIETY 

*“Ists UNVEILED’’ . 

Earuy Days oF THE THEOSOPHICAL SOCIETY 


THe S.P.R. AND THE THEOSOPHICAL PHE- 
NOMENA 


THE REPORT OF THE S.P.R. 


DIvIsIons AMONG T'HEOSOPHISTS—NEW PUvBLI- 
CATIONS 


Esoreric AND Exorertc ASPECTS OF THE THEO- 
SOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


H.P.B., OLtcort, AND JUDGE . 

THE FORMATION OF THE ESOTERIC SECTION 
THE WoRK OF THE ESOTERIC SECTION 
MaseL CoLLINS AND PROFESSOR COUES . 


THE CourEs-CoLLINS CHARGES AND THEIR AF- 
TERMATH . 


The New York Sun Lipeu CASE . 
Oxtcotr Versus H.P.B. 


Outcott’s ATTEMPT TO CENTRALIZE ALL AU- 
THORITY 


H.P.B. Taxes CHARGE OF THE T.S. IN EUROPE 
Deratu or H.P.B.—HeEr Last Messaces 

THE CRISIS IN THE SOCIETY 

ATTEMPTS TO SUPERSEDE H.P.B.’s INFLUENCE . 


Growing DIvERGENCES—OLcoTT RESIGNS AS 


PRESIDENT 
xi 


PAGE 


xii 


CHAPTER 


XXIT. 


XXIII. 


XXIV. 


XXYV. 
XXVI. 
XXVII. 
XXVIII. 
XXIX. 
XXX. 


NO.O.8 F 


AXXIT. 
XXXII. 


ROX. 


XXXYV. 


XXXVI. 


CONTENTS 


CONVENTION OF 1892—OnLcoTtt WITHDRAWS His 
RESIGNATION . 


H.P.B.’s ‘‘Succressors’’—THE PUBLICATION OF 
‘‘Onup Diary LEAVES’”’ 


CONTROVERSY OVER H.P.B.’s Status As AGENT 
OF THE MASTERS . 


ANNIE BESANT IN AMERICA, 1892-1893 
BEGINNINGS OF THE ‘‘JUDGE CASE’’ . 

Mrs. BESANT CHANGES SIDES 

THE AMERICAN SECTION SUPPORTS JUDGE . 
THe ‘‘JupiciaL ENquiry’’ IN LONDON . 


BRITISH CONVENTION DISMISSES CASE AGAINST 
J UDGE 


THE ‘‘ EASTERN DIvISION’’ AND ‘‘ WESTERN D1I- 
VISION ’”’ . 


Westminster Gazette ATTACKS THE SOCIETY 


Mrs Besant Tries to Drive JupGE OuT OF 
THE SOCIETY . 


THE AMERICAN SECTION DECLARES Its AUTON- 
OMY AND ExuEcts JupGE Its Lirg-PRESIDENT 


JUDGE’S DEATH AND THE TINGLEY ‘‘SUCCESSOR- 
SHIP’’ 


PRESENT AND FUTURE OF THE THEOSOPHICAL 
MovEMENT 


PAGE 


334 


301 


380 
405 
425 
441 
468 
493 


o19 


D09 
O74 


596 


622 


653 


689 


ANALYTICAL TABLE OF CONTENTS 


PAGE 
CHAPTER I. CHANNELS OF THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 1 


The Theosophical Movement the story of Spiritual and Intel- 
lectual evolution—Religions and systems of thought, govern- 
ments, sects and parties, landmarks of its cyclical progression 
through the ages—The Reformation, Free Masonry, the Ameri- 
can Republic, the abolition of human slavery, all steps—the 
‘‘divine right’’ of God and the ‘‘divine rights’’ of kings alike 
obstacles to progress—all physical evolution preceded and accom- 
panied by intellectual and moral growth—upward impulses due 
to the inspiration of higher evolved Intelligences—they work 
through appropriate channels—modern signs of the Theosophical 
Movement abundantly in evidence—Western interest in oriental 
philosophy and religion—the great influence of the ‘‘Light of 
Asia’’—the tremendous effect of Darwin’s ‘‘ Origin of Species’’ 
on prevailing religious ideas of ‘‘creation,’’ God and Nature— 
Buckle’s intuitive perception of the rise of new religions and 
philosophies—the great work of iconoclasts like Ingersoll and 
Bradlaugh, of liberal preachers like Kingsley and Channing— 
the Bastilles of orthodoxy no longer impregnable—Spiritualism 
an index of the transitional state of mind in religion—phenomena 
and forces ignored by Science—the writings of Allan Kardec— 
Spiritualism devoid alike of morality and philosophy—becomes 
in a generation the faith of millions—due to awakening psychic 
faculties—Madame Blavatsky enters the Western arena—her ex- 
hibition of powers exercised at will—her totally unknown 
philosophy of Life—her first efforts made with the Spiritualists. 


CuHaptTer II. THe PARENT THEOSOPHICAL SOCIETY. ... hs 


Madame Blavatsky comes to New York in 1873—meets Col. 
H. 8S. Oleott in 1874 at the Eddy farmhouse—she controls the 
exhibition of phenomena unknown to the spectators—Olcott a 
prominent lawyer and newspaper writer, a life-long Spiritualist 
—becomes greatly interested in H.P.B.’s powers and knowledge 
—introduces her to Wm. Q. Judge, a young lawyer—Oleott and 
Judge become pupils of H.P.B.—Oleott’s book, ‘‘ People from 
the Other World,’’ draws public attention to the phenomenal 
powers of H.P.B.—her apartment dubbed ‘‘the Lamasery’’ be- 
comes the scene of a never ending throng of visitors and mar- 
vel seekers—Oleott proposes a ‘‘ Miracle Club,’’ which falls 
through—the Theosophical Society established in November, 
1875, by H.P.B., Oleott and Judge—other early members—most 
of them Spiritualists who turn enemies—teachings of H.P.B. 
entirely opposed to the theories of Spiritualism—many Euro- 
pean and Indian Fellows join the new Society—The Arya Somaj 
and Swami Sarasvati—the original Society democratic in organi- 
zation—no restrictions on freedom of conscience or liberty of 


xiii 


xiv 


ANALYTICAL TABLE OF CONTENTS 


thought—the ‘‘Three Objects’’ of the Parent Theosophical So- 
ciety—H.P.B. writes ‘‘Isis Unveiled,’’ published in 1877— 
goes with Col. Oleott to India, leaving Judge in America—rapid 
growth of the Society in the Orient—early publications and 
formation of new ‘‘Branches,’’ East and West. 





CHapris DLS Sie arr ele i ces eee ee 


‘*Tsis Unveiled’’ a Master Key to the mysteries of science and 
religion, modern and ancient—dedicated to the Theosophical 
Society with whose ‘‘Three Objects’’ its teachings are in cor- 
relation—discusses the roots of all religion, the negations of 
science, and the phenomena of Spiritualism—declares all three 
before a blank wall only to be penetrated by recourse to the 
wisdom of the ancient sages—affirms the existence of the 
Wisdom-Religion, as the true Source of the Theosophical Move- 
ment in all ages—H.P.B. avows her own intimate acquaintance 
with living Adepts—phenomenal powers over space, time and 
matter—proves the fallacies of ‘‘exact’’ science by the testimony 
of its own exponents—all claims of religious ‘‘infallibility’’ 
mere theological dogmas—raises her voice for spiritual freedom 
and enfranchisement from all tyranny whether of Science or 
Theology—postulates a double evolution, spiritual and intellectual 
—the Wisdom-Religion the only philosophy which can reconcile 
faith and knowledge—Metempsychosis, in its esoteric sense— 
the solution of the ‘‘missing links’’ in Science and the mysteries 
that baffle religionists—ancient Magic a Divine Science—Cyclie 
Law, or Karma, the explanation of the rise and fall of civiliza- 
tions—the periodic destructions and renovations of Nature— 
every problem of existence solved by the Wise Men of old—the 
secret and unbroken chain of the Adepts of the Great Lodge— 
the great propositions of Occultism—there is no miracle, every- 
thing under Law (Karma)—Spirit, Mind and Matter the evolv- 
ing Trinity in Nature and in Man—Adeptship versus Medium- 
ship—the Trinity of Nature the lock of Magic—the Trinity of 
Man the Key that fits it. 


CuHAapter IV. Earty Days or THE THEOSOPHICAL SOCIETY 


The Theosophical Society an attempt to form a human asso- 
ciation on the basis of the Lodge of Adepts, pure Altruism— 
H.P.B. not deceived in regard to the obstacles to be met—sece- 
tarian religious prejudices, the great barrier to true Fraternity 
—the Second Object of the T.S.—the idea of ‘‘miracles’’ and 
materialistic hypotheses of modern science the great enemies of 
true knowledge, hence the Third Object—Man inherently per- 
fectible, not a mortal fallible being—Adepts the living proof of 
the divinity inherent in every man—the Wisdom-Religion can 
be known and its Adepts found by any sincere man—the real 
enemies of human welfare—bound to array themselves against 
H.P.B., her Society and her mission—who those enemies are— 
orthodox religions, materialistic science, pseudo-scientists, pre- 
tended authoritves—the mercenaries and parasites of the press— 
‘“Tsis Unveiled’’ neither a revelation nor an arbitrary theory—a 
statement of verifiable facts, physical and metaphysical—rests 
upon its own inherent worth—the Theosophical Society a body of 
students—dependent upon self-induced and self-devised efforts 
to study and apply the teachings of Theosophy—rejected and 
opposed by the Spiritualists, its natural allies, because of its 


PAGE 


26 


42 


ANALYTICAL TABLE OF CONTENTS XV 


PAGE 
teachings on after-death states and conditions—greatly helped 
in the East because of the natural mysticism of the inhabitants 
—Swami Sarasvati and his Arya Somaj originally sympathetic 
—Buddhist and Hindu friends gained for the Society in India— 
Sumangali, Damodar Mavalankar and Subba Row, powerful 
allies—A. P. Sinnett and A. O. Hume influential friends among 
the English—The Theosophist founded in 1879—Oleott’s ‘‘ Bud- 
dhist Catechism’’ published—this and his lecturing tours gain 
many adherents—Missionary hostility aroused at the success and 
propaganda of the Society—H.P.B. charged with being a Rus- 
sian spy and an immoral woman with Col. Olcott for her dupe 
—other calumnies—charges recanted by enemies—first internal 
disturbance in the London Lodge—Dr. George Wyld’s defection 
—Dr. Anna Bonus Kingsford’s ‘‘ Perfect Way’’—her pamphlet 
assault on Mr. Sinnett’s ‘‘Esoteric Buddhism’’—Mr. Subba 
Row replies—Mr. C. C. Massey precipitates further troubles—the 
‘“Kiddle charges’’ of plagiarism by the Master—the storm 
raised in England and France in 1884—H.P.B. and Col. Oleott 
go to Paris and London—meet Mr. Solovyoff—Judge comes to 
Paris, goes to India, and returns to America via London—H.P.B. 
and Col. Oleott meet leading members of the Society for Psy- 
chical Research while in London—the S.P.R. plans to investigate 
the ‘‘ Theosophical phenomena.’’ 


CHaptrr V. THE S.P.R. AND THE THEOSOPHICAL PHE- 
NOMENA MERE. SR SERRA AD RRR aa TP ad RNa MOR Reet adh ear 59 


The Society for Psychical Research preceded by the Dialectical 
Society—that Society investigates Spiritualism in 1869—pub- 
lishes its Report in 1870—concludes phenomena of Spiritualism 
are genuine—transcend all known laws—should be investigated 
scientifically—ceriticisms of the Report by London papers— 
Professor Crookes investigates Spiritualism—publishes his results 
in 1872—Mr. Crookes assailed as savagely as Darwin—no ad- 
vance in understanding of Spiritualistic phenomena during next 
ten years—the ‘‘Unseen Universe’’—the Society for Psychical 
Research established in 1882—its chief sponsors Spiritualists— 
some of them members of the Theosophical Society also—many 
well-known men and women join the S.P.R.—it begins its in- 
vestigation of the ‘‘Theosophical phenomena’’ in the summer 
of 1884—Olecott, Sinnett, Chatterji and others examined—H.P.B. 
interviewed—many other witnesses to the phenomena of H.P.B. 
give testimony—Preliminary Report of the S.P.R. issued in the 
fall of 1884—admits the prima facie genuineness of the phe- 
nomena—reservations due to the charges just made in India by 
the Coulombs against the good faith of H.P.B.—declares a fur- 
ther investigation necessary in India—appoints Mr. Richard 
Hodgson for that purpose—the story of the Coulomb charges of 
fraud against H.P.B.—H.P.B. shipwrecked in 1871—goes to 
Cairo—meets Madame Coulomb—is succored by her—starts a 
society to investigate Western Spiritualism—the attempt a fail- 
ure—H.P.B. returns to Russia in 1872—goes to Paris and then 
to New York in 1873—Madame Coulomb marries in Egypt— 
meets with reverses—is living in poverty in Ceylon when H.P.B. 
and Col. Olcott come to India—the Coulombs appeal for aid— 
go to India—join the Theosophical Society in 1880—are given 
employment at headquarters—Madame Coulomb a bigoted Chris- 
tian and Spiritualist medium—hecomes jealous of H.P.B.’s sue- 
cessful mission—iries to extort money from members—circulates 





Xvi 


ANALYTICAL TABLE OF CONTENTS 


slanders about H.P.B.—is brought to ‘‘trial’’ by the members 
of the Council during absence of H.P.B. and Olcott in Europe 
in the summer of 1884—the Coulombs communicate with Madras 
missionaries—are expelled from the Theosophical Society—are 
supported by the missionaries—the Coulomb charges published 
in the Christian College Magazine and in a pamphlet—the out- 
burst occasioned. 


CuHapter VI. THE REpoRT OF THES.P.R. . . . . 


Madame Blavatsky resigns from Theosophical Society when Cou- 
lomb charges made public—resignation refused by Oleott under 
pressure—H.P.B. writes London Times and Pall Mall Gazette 
pronouncing charges a conspiracy—H.P.B. and Oleott return to 
India at end of 1884—H.P.B. insists charges must be met by 
court proceedings against the Coulombs—Oleott and the Hindus 
oppose legal action—the Adyar Convention declines to defend 
H.P.B. while affirming belief in her bona fides—Oleott and Sin- 
nett already mistrust H.P.B.—she resigns from the Society and 
leaves India early in 1885—Mr. Hodgson in India during the 
Convention and desertion of H.P.B. by Theosophists—power- 
fully affected by the lukewarmness and doubts of leading Theoso- 
phists—returns to England and submits his report to Committee 
of §8.P.R.—Hodgson’s findings adopted by Committee in June, 
1885—Report of the S.P.R. published following December— 
Conclusions reached—H.P.B.’s phenomena fraudulent—in a long- 
continued conspiracy to deceive public—Coulomb letters and 
Mahatma letters written by H.P.B.—declare H.P.B. ‘‘one of the 
most accomplished, ingenious, and interesting impostors in his- 
tory’’—the Report of the 8.P.R. examined critically shows it to 
be wholly ex parte—no safeguards employed to ascertain and 
render justice—the investigation that of a rival society con- 
trolled by Spiritualists—the S.P.R. not interested in philosophy 
or ethics—avid for phenomena—ignorant of Occultism—contra- 
dictions and inconsistencies of S.P.R. Committee shown from its 
own Report—Committee relies wholly on Mr. Massey’s suspicions, 
the Coulomb charges, and the opinions of the London handwriting 
experts—Mr. Massey’s suspicions shown to be without tangible 
foundation—the Coulombs shown out of their own mouths to be 
lying tricksters—the handwriting experts shown as first declar- 
ing the Mahatma letters could not have been written by H.P.B. 
—then, at Hodgson’s solicitation, changing their opinion to the 
contrary—the expert Netherclift shown to have sworn posi- 
tively in the Parnell case to the opposite of the facts—the mo- 
tives of all adverse witnesses shown to have been culpable and 
their testimony impeached—more than one hundred responsible 
witnesses affirm the genuineness of phenomena witnessed by them 
—the 8.P.R. Committee declares these to have been victims of 
‘‘hallucination’’—Hodgson’s findings examined—a mass of sus- 
picions and contradictory conjectures to account for facts testi- 
fied to—Hodgson recognizes necessity for showing a motive suf- 
ficient to account for H.P.B.’s alleged fraud during twenty years 
—rejects supposition that she was influenced by greed or ambi- 
tion—submits theory that H.P.B. was a Russian spy—her Society 
and her phenomena a cloak to conceal her designs against British 
rule in India. 


PAGE 


(6 


ANALYTICAL TABLE OF CONTENTS XVii 


PAGH 
CHAPTER VII. Drvisions AMONG THEOSOPHISTS—NEW 
PUBLICATIONS . . . Pi Oa it ‘ we (94 


Effect on Theosophists of Goulamnbs S.P.R. PRS cairns Michtoote 
goes to Burmah—H.P.B. desperately ill—attempt to unseat Ol- 
cott, who returns to Adyar—H.P.B. supports him—but tells him 
in deserting her the Theosophists have deserted the Masters— 
H.P.B. resigns and leaves India for Europe—Damodar leaves 
Adyar and goes to the Masters—the Society in India languishes 
and falls into public contempt—H.P.B. finds friends and sup- 
porters in Kurope—Oleott and Indians find they cannot continue 
without H.P.B.—Convention at close of 1885 invites her to re- 
sume her office of Corresponding Secretary—refuses resignation 
of Olcott who is ready to retire as President—temporary restora- 
tion of harmony among Theosophists—H.P.B. in Europe, first in 
Italy, then Germany, then Belgium—her sickness, poverty, 
courage, good temper and unremitting exertions—visited by many 
noted Theosophists—her physical condition desperate for two 
years—carried to London by Countess Wachtmeister and the 
Keightleys in summer of 1887—her presence a great stimulus to 
Theosophy in England—new publications, the Sphyna, the Lotus 
and Lucifer—the ‘‘Blavatsky Lodge’’ formed at London—NSin- 
nett publishes ‘‘ Incidents in the Life of H. P. Blavatsky’’ as an 
offset to S.P.R. Report—new books—‘‘Light on the Path’’— 
‘“Five Years of Theosophy’’—‘‘Man: Fragments of Forgotten 
History ’’—revival of Theosophical spirit and work—in Asia— 
in Europe—in America—Judge the heart of the Movement in 
America—rebuilds the Society—Judge begins The Path in 1886 
—secures the establishment of the American ‘‘ Board of Con- 
trol’’ by Oleott—new Branches and Lodges in the United States 
—Judge forms the ‘‘ American Section of the T.S.’’—first really 
democratic organization in the Society—Judge becomes its Gen- 
eral Secretary—the work now in three streams—Judge in Amer- 
ica—H.P.B. in Europe—Olcott in India—all in outward concord. 


Cuaprer VIII. Esoreric aNp ExotTreric ASPECTS OF THE 
THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT . . ieee LEO 


The ‘‘ Esoteric Section of the T.S.’’—the isdeephiea Movement 
has an esoteric as well as an exoteriec aspect—the Theosophical 
Society merely the public experimental aspect of the Movement 
and its Third Section—the First Section the Lodge of Masters 
—the Second Section composed of accepted, lay and probationary 
Chelas or Disciples—the Masters or First Section never pub- 
licly known—the Second Section kept secret, but probationers 
accepted privately—Judge and Oleott the earliest members of 
the Second Section known—first public notice of the Three See- 
tions in India in 1880—hints and articles on Chelaship there- 
after appear at intervals in The Theosophist—difference be- 
tween Occultism and Spiritualism—Chelaship and mediumship 
opposed courses—reasons for secrecy in connection with ‘‘ Chela- 
ship of the Second Section’’—the immense change in the work 
of H.P.B. and Judge after 1886—shown in contents of Lucifer 
and The Path—illustrative articles cited—‘‘the ordeals of Chela- 
ship’’—practically exemplified in case of Mrs. Cables and Mr. 
W. T. Brown—Mrs. Cables a Spiritualist Christian with mystical 
tendencies—begins publication of The Occult Word—W. T. 
Brown a ‘‘probationary Chela’’—becomes a ‘‘ Rosicrucian’’— 
joins Mrs. Cables—they seek for ‘‘communications from the 


xviii ANALYTICAL TABLE OF CONTENTS 


PAGE 

Mahatmas’’—receive no ‘‘signs’’—publish a ‘‘manifesto’’— 
H.P.B. replies—shows dangers and requirements of Chelaship— 
—cites Brown’s own ease in illustration without naming him— 
Mrs. Cables and Brown leave the Society—failures frequent 
among candidates for Chelaship—out of hundreds ‘‘one only’’ 
achieves full success—seven years successful probation the mini- 
mum requirement before ‘‘communication with Masters’’ possi- 
ble on both sides—failure of Theosophists to lead the life. 


CuHaprTmr IX, H.P.B., OLcorr'anp JupDGE . . . . . 127 


H.P.B. the Messenger of the Masters—Judge next to her in 
importance esoterically—Oleott the public head and front of the 
exoteric work—Oleott’s limitations and obstacles—his own let- 
ter quoted—Oleott, the probationary Chela, fails often and upsets 
his work as President—his attitude toward H.P.B. and Judge 
—his friendship and intimacy with those who afterward be- 
came enemies or traitors—Massey, Prof. Coues—Oleott’s slights 
to H.P.B.—his partiality for Subba Row—friction between 
Subba Row and H.P.B. over the ‘‘Sevenfold Classification’ ’—the 
contentions in The Theosophist—Judge intervenes in the con- 
_troversy—internal frictions cause of all external troubles— 
failure of Theosophists to adhere to First Object and of pro- 
bationary Chelas to keep their Pledges—could not endure correc- 
tion at hands of H.P.B. or Judge—‘‘ Pledge Fever’’ real cause 
of stormy course of the Society—necessity for restoration of 
the Movement to true lines—Judge advises formation of 
‘“Ksoteric Section’’—draws up its Rules—Oleott torn by fears 
and doubts—the battle between the ‘‘Three Founders’’ prior to 
the formation of the ‘‘Esoterie Section’’—not disclosed till 
long afterwards in ‘‘Old Diary Leaves’’—neither H.P.B. nor 
Judge ever wrote anything personal—never ‘‘ washed Theosoph- 
ical dirty linen in public’’—story of friction between the 
Founders unknown to Theosophists at the time—disclosed long 
afterward by Olcott—‘‘Old Diary Leaves’’ not a history but 
an autobiography. 


CHAPTER X. THE FORMATION OF THE ESOTERIC SECTION . 144 


The ‘‘critical period’’ preceding the formation of the ‘‘ Esoteric 
Section’’ of the T.S.—H.P.B. discusses Oleott’s nature in a 
letter to Dr. Franz Hartmann in 1886—Oleott and others never 
understood either Masters or H.P.B.—Oleott sincere but ‘‘ lacks 
in the psychological portion of his brain’’—H.P.B.’s story of 
her difficulties—trying to aid others to perception of the facts 
—Oleott tells his story at length in ‘‘Old Diary Leaves’’— 
thinks H.P.B. wise, foolish and fanatic—opposes establishment 
of Lucifer and of ‘‘ Blavatsky Lodge’’—offended at H.P.B.’s 
course in the Subba Row controversy—discusses H.P.B.’s nature 
—calls her ‘‘insulted and misunderstood Messenger’’—then says 
she ‘‘frets and worries over mares’ nests’’—ealls the Judge- 
Coues controversy a ‘‘personal quarrel’’—gives his version of 
the storm preceding the ‘‘Esoterie Section’’—ecalls H.P.B. a 
‘*mad person,’’ ‘‘hyperexcited hysterical woman’ ’—discloses 
that H.P.B. was prepared to leave the T.S. and form a new 
Society of her own if he does not reform—the Hindu ‘‘Coun- 
cil’’ frightened at H.P.B.’s stand—more trouble in the Paris 
Branch—Oleott makes it an excuse to go to Europe in 1888— 
to ‘‘fight it out’’ with H.P.B.—first overrules her then rescinds 
his action—confirms H.P.B.’s ‘‘interference’’ as within her 


ANALYTICAL TABLE OF CONTENTS xix 


PAGE 

‘Constitutional rights’’—Oleott receives a letter on shipboard 
in 1888 direct from the Master—wrongly relates it in ‘‘Old 
Diary Leaves’’ to the visit in 1884—the Master’s letter a 
phenomenon indeed—it reproaches Oleott for his attitude and 
conduct towards H.P.B.—declares that it is she who is their 
direct agent—afiirms that ‘‘with occult matters she has every- 
thing to do’’—warns Olcott to attend to his own business—tells 
him he will have to suffer for his injustice to H.P.B.—the 
letter effective for the time being—Judge goes to London and 
the Three Founders effect a reconciliation—H.P.B. issues public 
notice of the Esoteric Section, accompanied by an ‘‘ official 
authorization’’ from Olcott—joint note of H.P.B. and Oleott 
to all Theosophists—Oleott afterwards takes credit to himself 
for the outecome—‘‘ pacifies H.P.B.’’ 


CHAPTER XI. THE WorK OF THE Esoteric SECTION .. 163 


‘“Old Diary Leaves’’ tells the story of Oleott’s return to India 
late in 1888 for the ‘‘ Adyar Parliament’’—his Address to the 
Convention—never set himself up as a competent* teacher—the 
Esoteric Section H.P.B.’s sole .responsibility—glosses the Euro- 
pean events to show himself the leading actor—the Convention 
of the American Section in April, 1889, following—a letter read 
from H.P.B.—Judge’s respect and reverence for H.P.B. in 
contrast with Olcott’s attitude—H.P.B.’s letter refers to the 
Esoteric Section—formed to work for Theosophy under her 
direction—gives a warning direct from Masters—Altruism 
Their object—Theosophists must strive for true fraternity— 
Preliminary Memorandum to candidates for the Esoteric Sec- 
tion—the Pledge required—secrecy, service and study—the 
Esoteric Section necessary because the T.S. had proved after 
thirteen years a ‘‘dead failure’’ and a ‘‘sham’’—the Esoteric 
Section not for ‘‘practical occultism’’—for brotherly union, 
mutual help, and the salvation of the T.S.—other extracts from 
the Preliminary Memorandum and Book of Rules. 


CHAPTER XII. Mapet CoLuuIns AND ProFressor CovEes . 178 


The Esoteric Section promptly brings about Pledge Fever 
in the T.S.—the great storm of 1889-90—Mabel Collins and 
Prof. Coues the conscious and unconscious instruments—Mabel 
Collins joins London Lodge in 1884—a ‘‘psychic’’ with no 
knowledge of Occultism—medium for ‘‘Light on the Path’’ 
and ‘‘The Gates of Gold’’—becomes Associate Editor. of 
Lucifer with H.P.B.—acquires great Theosophical reputation— 
suddenly dropped from Lucifer in February, 1889—Prof. Coues 
of Catholic descent and training—highly educated—noted scien- 
tific authority and writer—interested in ‘‘ psychical research’ ’— 
joins T.S. at London in 1884—becomes member of American 
Board of Control—establishes the Gnostic Branch of the Ameri- 
can Section T.S., at Washington, D. C.—aids in establishing an 
American Society for Psychical Research—tries to control T.S. 
in United States—Judge’s cautions—Coues corresponds with 
H.P.B., Judge and Olcott, trying to set them at odds with each 
other—Oleott nearly succumbs—letter from Oleott to Coues— 
Coues made Chairman at American Section Convention of 1888 
at Chicago—gives the Chicago Tribune a spurious ‘‘ Mahatma 
message’ ’—admits it to Judge—denies it to H.P.B.—his letters 
to Judge and H,P,B.—his hypocrisy and thirst for notoriety 








xX 


ANALYTICAL TABLE OF CONTENTS 


and power—H.P.B. replies to him—speaks plainly—refuses to 
countenance his ‘‘messages’’ or his ambitions—he demands to 
be made head of the American Section as the price of his 
allegiance—his offer rejected—not present at the Convention of 
April, 1889. 


CuapTer XIII. Tar Coves-CoLtuins CHARGES AND THEIR 


AFTERMATH . . 


Coues sends a letter to the Religio-Philosophical Journal of 
May 11, 1889—Bundy, Coleman, Michael Angelo Lane and 
Mabel Collins enlisted in Coues’ campaign to ruin Judge and 
H.P.B.—Coues’ letter jeers at the ‘‘Theosophical mahatmas’’ 
—quotes a letter from Mabel Collins—says he never met Miss 
Collins personally—wrote her first in 1885 asking real source of 
‘‘Light on the Path’’—she replied that it was ‘‘dictated to 
her by one of the adepts’’ of H.P.B.—no intervening communi- 
cation—now ‘‘unexpectedly’’ he receives letter which he gives 
—Miss Collins declares her original statement false—knows 
nothing of existence of any Master—made her false statement 
because H.P.B. ‘‘begged and implored’’ her to—the Coues- 
Collins’ charges critically examined—show Coues a conscienceless 
schemer and Mabel Collins a mediumistic dupe of Coues—their 
combined testimony proved false from their own evidence— 
collateral and chronological facts show baselessness and im- 
possibility of allegations in regard to H.P.B.—aftermath of 
events—Mabel Collins sues H.P.B. for libel—her own attorneys 
dismiss the suit on .being shown a letter of Mabel Collins in 
H.P.B.’s possession—the real mysteries involved in the origin 
of Collins’ ‘‘inspired’’ books—Mabel Collins a ‘‘failure in 
occultism’’—dismissed, with M. A. Lane, from the Esoteric 
Section—Coues never a member of the Section—admission re- 
fused him. 


CHAPTER XIV. The New York Sun Lipset CASE .. . 


Professor Coues’ case taken up by Judge—the Executive Com- 
mittee of the American Section expels Coues from the T.S.— 
the Convention in April, 1890, approves the expulsion—the 
Gnostic Branch dischartered—Coues plans revenge—the New 
York Sum joins in the fray—calls H.P.B. an ‘‘impostor,’’ lauds 
Coues for exposing her ‘‘humbug religion’’—followed by full- 
page interview with Coues—he rehashes all the old slanders on 
H.P.B.—charges Judge with duplicating in America H.P.B.’s 
frauds in England—the ‘‘mahatmas’’ a hoax and their ‘‘mes- 
sages’’ invented by H.P.B. and Judge—charges H.P.B. with 
immorality—Judge brings suit for libel against Sun—H.P.B. 
follows—her letter in The Path—no evasion of the issues—the 
Sun fights the case for two years—no evidence obtainable to 
support the charges made—the Sun publishes in 1892 a full 
retraction and repudiates Coues—retraction accompanied by 
publication in Sun of a long article by Judge in defense of 
H.P.B.—Sun says editorially ‘‘ Mr. Judge’s article disposes of all 
questions regarding Madame Blavatsky as presented by Dr. 
Coues’’—the Sun libel case a complete vindication of H.P.B. 
—infamy of subsequent reiteration of exploded slanders by 
Count Witte and Margot Tennant—Coues disgraced by outcome 
of suits—retires to obscurity—importance of the Coues-Collins- 
Sun battle—should be familiar to all students. 





PAGH 


195 


211 


ANALYTICAL TABLE OF CONTENTS xxi 


PAGE 
CHAPTER “XiV 4) OLCOTT. VERSUS -HP.B. ee Se ee 296 


Esoteric aspect of the Coues struggle—cycles in Theosophical 
Movement—the Three Founders the personification of the Three 
Sections of the Movement—a breach between the Sections in 
the first ten years—Olcott and others’ failure to defend H.P.B. 
in 1885 the sign of the rupture—first doubts—then dissent and 
dissimulation—then temporising—then repudiation of the Oc- 
eult status of H.P.B.—the long list of ‘‘failures in occultism’’ 
in the first thirteen years—Coues counted on Olcott’s support— 
Olcott becomes frightened at possible consequences to Society 
and himself—refuses to align himself with his colleagues—but 
does not openly support Coues—blinded by jealousy and vanity 
—‘Old Diary Leaves’’ discloses Olcott’s inner attitude and 
struggles—his ‘‘ pitched battle’? with H.P.B. in 1888 over the 
Esoteric Section—<due to his inner doubts and fears—thought 
H.P.B. and Judge were engaged in ‘‘the building up of a new 
structure of falsehood, fraud and treachery in which to house 
new idols’’—takes Richard Harte back to India with him— 
Oleott’s comments in ‘‘Old Diary Leaves’’ on the events from 
1888 to 1890—obsessed with the importance of the Society—of 
himself as its President-Founder—changes in the Constitution 
and articles in The Theosophist—engineered by Oleott to make 
himself supreme—tries to relegate H.P.B. and Judge to ‘‘ their 
proper place’’—‘‘ Revised Rules’’ adopted by the ‘‘ Adyar Par- 
liament’’—Judge and H.P.B. oppose—supported by the Ameri- 
can and British Sections. 


CHapter XVI. OucoTrr’s ATTEMPT TO CENTRALIZE ALL 
PA UEP HORTLE Lou oC eee nae kaa ee RE eat eco 


1888-1890—the long campaign waged by Olcott and his lieutenant 
Richard Harte—coincident with the Coues’ assaults—the uproar 
in the Society—H.P.B. and Judge the target for attacks within 
and without the Society—The Theosophist wages war on the 
independence of the Sections—belittles the Esoteric Section— 
threatens the dissolution of the American and British Sections 
—lauds ‘‘Adyar’’ as ‘‘the centre of the Movement’’—long 
series of derogatory articles—The Theosophist the sole source of 
information in India—attempts of H.P.B. and Judge publicly 
and privately to restore harmony—Bertram Keightley’s foolish 
letter to Harte—Judge writes direct to Olcott—re-affirms the 
issues at stake—declares H.P.B. the heart of the Society as 
well as the Movement—Oleott refuses to publish Judge’s letter 
—gives extracts and defends Harte—declares himself the head 
and front of the Society and the cause—H.P.B. takes action— 
her article in Lucifer, August, 1889—‘‘A Puzzle from Adyar’’ 
—she reprints some of Harte’s fulminations—‘‘Pure nonsense 
to say that she is ‘loyal to the Theosophical Society and to 
Adyar’ ’’—‘‘loyal to death to the Theosophical Cause’’— 
‘‘There is no longer a ‘Parent Society’ ’’—‘‘It is abolished 
and replaced by an aggregate body of Theosophical Societies, 
all autonomous’ ’—will leave the Society at the first sign of dis- 
loyalty to the Cause—and will lead those who remain true. 


XXli ANALYTICAL TABLE OF CONTENTS 


PAGD 
CuHaptrr XVII. H.P.B. Takes CHARGE OF THE T.S. IN 
EUROPE eo ate Wala Cee oe La ANY | 


Esoterically, the great storm of 1888-90 due to the clash be- 
tween human and divine nature—the Objects of the Movement 
practical, not theoretical—the gulf between the views of Olcott 
and his party and those personified by H.P.B. and Judge— 
Olcott once more sobered by ‘‘A Puzzle from Adyar’ ’—realizes 
he has gone too far—fears for his beloved Society—determines 
to go once more to England—realizes that to rise in rebellion 
means to ally himself with Coues—arrives in England late in 
1889—met as always by H.P.B. with affection and charity—heart 
warmed by the treatment accorded him—his fears allayed for 
the moment—makes a tour of the British Isles—issues an 
‘“Order’’ delegating his Presidential powers for Europe to 
H.P.B. and an ‘‘ Advisory Council’’—‘‘Bombay Conference’’ 
adopts stirring resolutions in support of H.P.B. during Oleott’s 
absence—fresh Paris troubles after Olcott’s return to India— 
he once more interferes and issues Presidential ukases—the 
British and Continental Theosophists rise up in arms—Mrs. 
Annie Besant joins the Society—becomes associate editor of 
Lucifer and President of the ‘‘ Blavatsky Lodge’ ’—she heads the 
insurrection against Oleott’s papal actions—unanimous demand 
that H.P.B. take direction of affairs in HEurope—H.P.B. bows to 
the will of the European Theosophists—issues a Notice in 
Iucifer assuming full authority and responsibility for Society 
in Europe—names it ‘‘The Theosophical Society in Europe’’ 
and declares for democracy, August, 1890—cables Olcott of her 
action—Oleott saves his face by accepting the facts and repudi- 
ating the factors. 


CuHapTer XVIII. Deratu or H.P.B.—HER Last Messages 275 


H.P.B. dies May 8, 1891—Her life an open book to friend and 
foe—remains today as much a mystery as then—Theosophists 
never studied her life in the light of her teachings—regarded 
personally even by her most devoted followers—judged at 
second hand on hearsay and opinion by the world and by 
Theosophists—weighed by trifles—her teachings and her works 
the true evidence of her Mission and her nature—no fact ad- 
duced by her ever overthrown by counter-evidence—her theories 
as unimpeachable as ever—her life and her message absolutely 
consistent—her followers and detractors weighed in same seale 
make a sorry showing—her Messages to the American Theoso- 
phists prove her sage and prophet—her ‘‘dying declaration’ ’— 
““My Books’’—‘‘Isis Unveiled’’ a Message from the Masters 
—every word of her teachings from the Masters of the Wisdom 
—no charge against her ever substantiated—her inexhaustible 
philanthropy—the price she paid to serve mankind. 


CHAPTER XIX. THE CRISIS IN THE SocieTY. . . . . 393 


The great crisis following the death of H.P.B.—in the exoterie 
Society—in the Esoteric Section or School—how the crisis was 
met—Judge goes to London—summons a meeting of the ‘‘Coun- 
cil of the Esoteric Section’’—the Council meets May 27, 1891 
—considers documents left by H.P.B.—affirms Judge H.P.B.’s 
representative—H.P.B.’s last words ‘‘ Keep the Link unbroken’’ 

Council goes on record Esoteric School should be continued 


ANALYTICAL TABLE OF CONTENTS xxiii 


PAGB 
on lines laid by H.P.B.—Judge and Annie Besant to conduct 
the School—Council issues confidential circular to all members 
of the E.S.T., signed by all—Council resigns—address of Mrs. 
Besant and Judge as Outer Heads to the School—claim no 
authority over the members save such as delegated by H.P.B. 


CHAPTER XX. . ATTEMPTS TO SUPERSEDE H.P.B.’s In- 
ES EN CG oir Bs PAD ae RLY UES EC A) OL SER, WRC tai ge GUS 


Position of the Exoteric Society following H.P.B.’s death— 
Oleott comes to London to attend Convention of British- 
European Section—great gathering of leading Theosophists— 
London Lodge not represented at Convention but sends letter— 
—London Lodge declares its independence—action tacitly ac- 
cepted by Convention—speeches of Col. Olcott—Mrs. Besant— 
Mr. Judge—entire harmony and concord—Lucifer memorial 
articles—the workers scatter—Mrs. Besant takes charge of 
Lucifer—her great work publicly—Judge returns to America— 
Oleott to India—his ‘‘triumphal procession’’—Mrs. Besant’s 
proclamation of the nature and status of H.P.B. in Lucifer, 
1890-91—her famous speech in St. James’ Hall, August 30, 
1891—‘‘A Fragment of Autobiography’’—declares she has 
received messages from the Mahatmas since the death of H.P.B. 
—the furore aroused—Oleott ‘‘views with alarm’’ the declara- 
tions made—his Address to the ‘‘ Adyar Parliament’’ December, 
1891—H.P.B. ‘‘not as perfect a channel as some others’’— 
protests ‘‘against all attempts to create an H.P.B. school, sect 
or cult’’—Judge sounds the true note for all Theosophists— 
‘‘first, Solidarity, and second, Theosophical education’ ’—‘‘ Jas- 
per Niemand’’ publishes a message from the Masters in The 
Path, August, 1891—Oleott stirred up—writes Judge—Judge 
publishes article on ‘‘Dogmatism in Theosophy’ ’—Society 
founded to destroy dogmatism—quotes H.P.B.—real object 
Universal Brotherhood—not dogmatism to study, teach and apply 
Theosophy—members have equal rights to affirm or reject any 
doctrines—but no right to impose their private views on others 
—or promulgate them as official tenets of the T.S. 


CHAPTER XXI. GRowING DIVERGENCES—OLCOTT RESIGNS 
Fg god BOGUS Bae a eR PM te Det ht ea km aeRO yA | 


The old issues once more aroused—The Theosophical Movement 
one thing—the Theosophical Society quite another—the cri- 
teria applicable to Theosophical history—Altruism the  self- 
professed Object of the Fellows of the T.S.—Altruism and 
Theosophy the self-pledged objectives of the members of the 
E.S.T.—Fellows of the T.S. must be weighed in the scales of 
their own conduct, not that of ‘others—members of the Esoteric 
Section by their allegiance to their voluntary Pledges, not by 
worldly standards—the war of ideas within a year after H.P.B.’s 
death—official report of the Adyar Convention of 1891—Ol- 
cott’s Presidential Address—great importance of Oleott’s 
declarations—Judge meets the issue—publishes article on ‘‘ The 
Future and the Theosophical Society’’—quotes a letter of 
H.P.B.’s—her vision of the coming strife—‘‘a few earnest 
Theosophists’’—‘‘in a death struggle with nominal and am- 
bitious Theosophists’’—the dangers now the same as always— 
the Society not a ‘‘School for Occultism’’—must flourish on its 


Xxiv ANALYTICAL TABLE OF CONTENTS 


PAGE 
moral worth not on phenomena—members must be ‘‘true to 
themselves’ ’—Judge corrects Oleott’s Presidential remarks on 
H.P.B.—Judge declares H.P.B. knew she was going—decries 
attempts to create bogies—a thunderbolt in the Society—Oleott 
resigns the Presidency—Judge publishes official correspondence 
and takes charge as Vice-President, March, 1892—secret of 
Olcott’s sudden resignation a mystery to this day—the hidden 
facts disclosed—Oleott indiscreet at London in summer of 1891 
—charges of ‘‘grave immorality’? made by Miss Muller—Mrs. 
Besant excited by the charges—comes to New York to see Judge 
—demands Judge foree Oleott’s resignation—Judge writes Ol- 
cott—suggests he resign if charges are true—Oleott denies 
charges but tenders resignation—Oleott’s fatal blunder—proud 
and sensitive—cannot endure contumely and calumny—Judge 
writes him loyally. 


CHAPTER XXII. CONVENTION oF 1892—O.xLcoTTt WItTH- 
DRAWS LLISSESIGNATION helt 0 8 OPP ee eet oo 


Convention of American Section held in April, 1892, immediately 
following Oleott’s resignation—great growth of the Section— 
letters from Olcott read—Judge reviews the year since H.P.B.’s 
death—pays tribute to Annie Besant—convention resolutions in 
regard to Oleott—Oleott requested to withdraw his resignation— 
request cabled to Oleott—Oleott replies must wait to hear from 
all the Sections—Convention re-elects Judge General Secretary— 
—votes for Judge for President in case Olcott adheres to his 
resignation—American Convention’s recommendation to British 
Convention for July, 1892—advises same action in regard to 
Oleott’s resignation as its own—Mrs. Besant gets out private 
circular urging Judge for President—Oleott writes to British 
Convention—intimates willingness to withdraw resignation— 
Convention nevertheless votes for Judge and to accept resigna- 
tion—Oleott in a quandary—encouraged by Judge—Judge sends 
him message from Masters—Oleott decides to withdraw resigna- 
tion and remain President—Judge publishes Olcott’s notice and 
informs American Branches. 


CHapter XXIII. H.P.B.’s ‘‘Succressors’’—TuHE Pusui- 
CATION OF ‘‘OupD Diary LEAVES’’ .. . Renan 


Adyar Parliament at end of 1892—Olcott’s Presidential address 
—explains his resignation as due to ill-health—ready now to 
continue to the end as a ‘‘sacrifice demanded by the best inter- 
ests of the Society’’—names Judge as his successor—adverts 
once more to ‘‘Adyar’’ as the centre of the Movement—admits 
Adyar Convention merely an informal gathering—‘‘only 5 
Branches out of 145 really doing satisfactory work’’ in the 
Indian Section—Indian Branches mainly exist on paper—First 
Object makes no appeal to Indian membership—trouble in the 
E.S.T.—due to Mrs. Besant’s private circular preceding Con- 
vention of British Section—Judge issues notice in the E.S.T.— 
the School has no connection officially with the T.S.—members 
free to act according to their own judgment—Mrs. Besant’s 
private circular stirs up Oleott’s friends—her action ascribed to 
Judge’s influence—Mrs. Besant issues circular to the Esoteric 
School explaining her action—Judge’s efforts to shield Mrs. 
Besant—and restore harmony in the Society and the E.S.T.— 
why the circular was jointly signed—members too prone to fol- 


ANALYTICAL TABLE OF CONTENTS XXV 


PAGE 
low authorities—would not ‘‘cultivate self-reliance and develop 
the intuition’’—the bane of ‘‘suecessorship’’—H.P.B. declared 
in ‘‘Isis’’ that ‘‘apostolic succession is a gross and palpable 
fraud’’—the ‘‘successorship’’ idea among Theosophists after 
H.P.B.’s death—Duchesse de Pomar hailed as H.P.B.’s ‘‘sue- 
cessor’’—then Annie Besant in England and Judge in America 
—Judge tells the reporters ‘‘H.P.B. was sui generis’’—‘‘she can 
have no suecessor’’—claims of mediums and ‘‘Occultists’’ to 
be H.P.B.’s ‘‘ successor’ ’—the case of Henry B. Foulke—Judge’s 
two letters on the subject to the Wilkes-Barre Times—Mrs. 
Besant reprints Judge’s letters in Lucifer—Oleott declares him- 
self on ‘‘successorship’’ claims—‘‘ Blavatsky nascitur, non fit’’ 
—Oleott begins the publication of ‘‘Old Diary Leaves’’ in 
The Theosophist for March, 1892—their effect on the Society 
and the Movement—‘‘Old Diary Leaves’’ ostensible purpose to 
give a ‘‘true history of the Theosophical Society’’—the actual 
motive to pull down H.P.B. to the common level—the real animus 
not disclosed till 1895—econtradictory views of H.P.B. held by 
Oleott and others—the ‘‘real H.P.B.’’ unknown to Oleott— 
some hints for the intuitional-minded on ‘‘our Brother, H.P.B.’’ 


CHAPTER XXIV. CONTROVERSY OVER H.P.B.’s Sratus as 
AGENT OF THE MASTERS . .. . TMS eet vs GOL 


Constant belittlement of H.P.B. publicly and eg Siren eee’ 
nates from Olcott and Sinnett—could not endure her pre- 
eminence—Judge’s difficult situation—bound to defend H.P.B. 
—realizes must antagonize prominent leaders—steps taken in 
the E.S.T.—‘‘We have not been deserted’’—‘‘ Authorship of 
the ‘Secret Doctrine’ ’’—other articles in The Path—the old 
controversy between Mr. Sinnett and H.P.B.—‘‘ The earth chain 
of globes’’—London Lodge lectures—W. Scott Elliott claims 
‘‘inspiration’’—Alexander Fullerton’s faux pas—Judge dis- 
claims responsibility for Fullerton—corrects misconceptions in 
The Path—Judge quotes Masters’ certificates on the ‘ ‘Secret 
Doctrine’’—letter from Masters to Francesca Arundale—shows 
conditions in London Lodge as far back as 1884—Miss Arun- 
dale’s letter unknown to members at time—the controversy be- 
comes violent—Judge writes on ‘‘Masters, Adepts, Teachers 
and Disciples’’—Sinnett comes out in the open—declares H.P.B. 
‘‘under other influences’’ than Masters—affirms he is still in 
communication with Mahatmas—Judge and Mrs. Besant try to 
quiet the storm while upholding H.P.B.—Oleott speaks in praise 
of Sinnett—the situation by the early fall of 1893—a sharp. and 
sheer cleavage over teachings—and over status of H.P.B. as 
agent of the Masters. 


CHAPTER XXV. ANNIE BESANT IN AMERICA, 1892-3 . . 405 


Mrs. Besant invited to visit India again in fall of 1892—goes 
to America instead—her American tour a great success—returns 
to England loud in praise of Mr. Judge—Olecott writes the 
American Convention in April, 1893—raises the ‘‘ hero worship’’ 
bogy once more—Judge speaks as General Secretary American 
Section—disclaims all hero worship and dogmatism—but insists 
those who reverence H.P.B. have perfect right to express their 
views—warns against official promulgations on matters of indi- 
vidual opinion—Mrs. Besant upholds members’ rights to freedom 
of individual belief and expression—W. Scott Elliott’s claims to 


xxvi ANALYTICAL TABLE OF CONTENTS 


PAGE 
‘‘inspiration’’ discussed—‘‘authority’’ in the T.S.—no doe- 
trines ‘‘authoritative’’—all must stand on their own merit— 
Mrs. Besant quotes H.P.B. on freedom of opinion in the T.S.— 
KE. T. Sturdy takes a hand—Sturdy a member of the E.S.T.— 
objects to claims of ‘‘messages from Masters’’—Mrs. Besant 
writes on ‘‘Gurus and Chelas’’—opposes Sturdy’s views—the 
whole subject of ‘‘ Mahatma messages’’ once more to the fore 
—claims of ‘‘ Jasper Niemand’’ in The Path article—claims of 
Mrs. Besant to recent ‘‘messages’’ from Masters—Mrs. Besant 
now the foremost figure in the Society—Oleott and Sinnett wor- 
ried over Mrs. Besant’s championship of Judge and H.P.B. 


CHAPTER X XVI. BEGINNINGS OF THE ‘‘ JUDGE CASE”? . 425 


Mrs. Besant publishes in Lucifer for April, 1893, Judge’s letter 
to Oleott in 1891 about the ‘‘Jasper Niemand’’ message— 
Sturdy’s article really a reply to Judge’s letter to Oleott—Ol- 
eott joins in the fray—‘‘N.D.K.’’ writes in The Theosophist— 
challenges Judge’s statements in the letter to Olcott—Oleott 
reprints Sturdy’s article including paragraphs omitted by Mrs. 
Besant—Walter R. Old and S. V. Edge—Old a member of the 
‘*H.S.T. Council’’—Edge assistant on The Theosophist—they 
write in The Theosophist on ‘‘Theosophic Freethought’ ’—the 
article a veiled attack on Judge—they tell of the ‘‘ Mahatma 
Message’’ at the ‘‘E.S.T. Council’’ meeting of May 27, 1891 
—they question the bona fides of Judge and the genuineness of 
the ‘‘message’’—Old and Edge undoubtedly inspired by Olcott 
—the question of ‘‘Master’s seal’’—the whole subject of ‘‘mes- 
sages from Masters’’ discussed—H.P.B.’s statement—‘‘ Occult 
phenomena ean never be proved’’—The publication of ‘‘ Theo- 
sophie Freethought’’ a violation of the E.S.T. pledges of Old and 
Edge—taken up by Mrs. Besant in the Esoteric Section—Old and 
Edge suspended from membership in the E.S.T. in August, 1893 
—the circular issued to members of the E.S.T. by Mrs. Besant 
and Judge—Oleott follows up the attack on Judge and H.P.B.— 
the White Lotus Day meeting at Adyar, May 8, 1893—the quan- 
dary of Olcott and his allies—can Judge be unseated in confi- 
dence of members?—H.P.B. cannot be ‘‘buried’’ while Judge 
lives—Judge invincible with Mrs. Besant’s support—the prob- 
lem to win over Mrs. Besant against Judge and H.P.B.—be- 
ginnings of the conspiracy against Judge. 


CuaprTrer X XVII. Mrs. Besant CHAancEs Sipps .. . 441 


Judge and Olcott personify the opposing issues—the First and 
Second Sections versus the Third Section—esoterie aspects of the 
Movement versus the exoteric—‘‘The Judge ease’’ the external 
phase of the battle—the momentous year of 1893—Bertram 
Keightley the unconscious agent in the subornation of Mrs. 
Besant—Keightley originally a staunch supporter of H.P.B.— 
gets in trouble with Mabel Collins—sent by H.P.B. to America 
in 1890—poses as her ‘‘representative’’—H.P.B. issues famous 
Notice of August 9, 1890—disavows Bertram Keightley’s 
‘‘teachings’’—says Judge her ‘‘sole representative’ ’—recalls 
Keightley to Europe—sends him to India—he becomes General 
Secretary Indian Section—becomes an adherent of Oleott’s— 
falls under influence of G. N. Chakravarti—Chakravarti a 


ANALYTICAL TABLE OF CONTENTS XXxVii 


PAGH 
‘“psychic’’—poses as a ‘‘Chela’’—Keightley comes to America 
in spring of 1893—attends American Section Convention—in- 
vited by Judge to select Brahmin and Buddhist Delegates to 
World’s Parliament of Religions at Chicago Fair—Chakravarti 
chosen—Judge’s efforts to allay Brahminical hostility to the 
T.S.—he warns of ‘‘A plot against the Theosophical Society ’’— 
Keightley a close friend of Mrs. Besant—he goes to England 
from America—works on Mrs. Besant—she begins to grow sus- 
picious of Judge—Chakravarti comes to London—Mrs. Besant 
becomes one of his worshippers—adopts ‘‘ascetic’’ practices— 
her intimacy with Chakravarti—Mrs. Besant, Miss Miller, and 
Chakravarti come to America to attend the ‘‘ Parliament of 
Religions’’—the great success of the Parliament—Mrs. Besant 
and Chakravarti share honors as the great feature of the 
‘‘Parliament’’—Mrs. Besant succumbs to the lures held out— 
goes to India in the fall of 1893—her visit there a regal 
triumph—how Olcott set the stage—his contemptuous review of 
Judge’s Ocean of Theosophy—prepares the ‘‘ Adyar Conven- 
tion,’’ Christmas, 1893—his Presidential Address—laudations 
of Mrs. Besant—sees in Mrs. Besant a messiah from the Masters 
—the epiphany of Mrs. Besant—intimates a coming storm— 
understood to refer to Judge—the secret meeting behind the 
public address—the Christmas night conclave at Adyar in 1893 
—Mrs. Besant, Col. Oleott, Walter R. Old, and others plan the 
assault on Judge—the meeting unknown to the members—Mrs. 
Besant chosen to hurl the thunderbolt prepared—she writes a 
formal letter to Oleott Feb. 6, 1894—makes charges against 
Judge—demands investigation—next day Olcott writes officially 
to Judge—demands he resign or stand trial for ‘‘misusing 
Mahatmas’ names and handwritings.’’ 


CuHapTtEeR XXVIII. Tuer AMERICAN SECTION SUPPORTS 
sLIMTRC MPT ols te PAPO RCE ee Une) Li lo Ge Ae ae ent A Oye 


The real issue Theosophy or the Society—Chelas or mediums— 
Brotherhood or sectarianism—how Judge acted on receipt of 
Oleott’s ‘‘ultimatum’’—addresses a circular March 15, 1894, 
to all members of the T.S.—lays bare the facts—refuses to 
resign—announces his readiness to meet any charges—denies 
any wrong-doing—admits receiving and delivering messages 
from Masters—declares them genuine—never courted publicity 
—says no one but a genuine chela can determine what is or is 
not a ‘‘message’’—the charges a distinct violation of Consti- 
tution of Society—make a dogma out of Masters and Messages 
—an assault on liberty of conscience—will meet his accusers— 
Judge’s circular widely distributed—its frankness and fairness 
in meeting all issues—Bertram Keightley and George Mead re- 
ceive copies of charges and Judge’s reply—their sense of honor 
and fair play outraged—they address an open letter to Col. 
Oleott as General Secretaries of Indian and British Sections— 
charge Olcott with violation of Constitution and the princi- 
ples of Brotherhood—declare the matter at issue one of personal 
opinion and barred from constitutional attack—Oleott follows 
up his first letter to Judge with another—invites Judge to 
‘‘prove himself innocent’’ and suspends him from _ Vice- 
Presidency—sets the ‘‘trial’’ to be held at London in July, 
1894—-Mrs. Besant leaves India to return to England and carry 
the fight against Judge before the British Section Convention 





XXVili ANALYTICAL TABLE OF CONTENTS 


PAGE 

—the American Section Convention meets in April, 1894— 
unanimously votes confidence in Judge—re-elects him General 
Secretary—charges Olcott with violation of the Constitution— 
demands that if Judge’s ‘‘messages’’ are investigated those of 
Sinnett, Mrs. Besant, Col. Olcott and others be also investigated 
at the same time—declares for freedom of opinion and belief 
in the Society—votes to reimburse Judge for the expenses he 
has been put to because of the charges against him. 


CHAapTeR XXIX. THE ‘‘JupIcIaL ENQUIRY’’ IN LONDON . 493 


Olcott’s position in spring of 1894—determined to ‘‘ fight it out 
to the hilt’’ this time—feels master of the situation due to 
alliance with Mrs. Besant—his other aids—Walter Old’s help— 
Old determines to return to England with Mrs. Besant—Old an 
astrologer and ‘‘psychic’’ with many English friends—Oleott’s 
panegyrics on Mrs. Besant—his signed article in The Theoso- 
phist on Mrs. Besant—his attitude toward Judge contrasted with 
his deification of Mrs. Besant—makes Mrs. Besant his vice- 
regal agent—grants her carte blanche in Australasia—the sig- 
nificance of this—Oleott and Mrs. Besant natural autocrats— 
no idea of democracy—the bombshell of Keightley and Mead’s 
rebellion—the situation reversed—Oleott now fearful of defeat— 
consults his advisers—sends out a new Official Notice—tries to 
explain situation—announees his decision to go to England—his 
‘“explanation’’ examined—the battlefield transferred to Eng- 
land—The ‘‘ Judicial Committee’’ meets at London in July, 1894 
—Mrs. Besant, Olcott and others confer—the case thrashed out 
in Committee—Judge attends the session of the Committee— 
remains silent—Committee in hard case—points raised by Judge 
inescapable—Judge announces his readiness to be ‘‘tried’’—the 
Committee controlled by Besant and Oleott—they fear Judge 
can ‘‘prove his innocence’’ if tried—they reverse themselves— 
Olcott makes a speech—declares case cannot constitutionally be 
tried—the Committee decides it has ‘‘no jurisdiction’’—the 
action taken a complete exposure of the animus of the persecu- 
tion—the ‘‘Enquiry’’ a farce. 


CHAPTER XXX. British CONVENTION DISMISSES CASE 
AGAINST ZUTIDGR wo indo) 5 ne ta Ds a ee ne ae er 


Effect of the decision of the ‘‘ Judicial Committee’ ’—Theoso- 
phists at London for the British Convention sense the wrong done 
Judge—Mrs. Besant and Oleott try to ‘‘save their face’’— 
they demand a ‘‘Jury of honour’’—Judge’s reply—where are 
the competent ‘‘occultists’’?—-who can tell whether a ‘‘ Mes- 
sage’’ is or is not genuine?—Mrs. Besant proposes the matter be 
placed before the British Convention as a ‘‘Jury’’—Judge 
promptly consents—Mrs. Besant and Judge read Statements to 
the Convention—Mrs. Besant admits the charges due to ‘‘per- 
sonal hatred’’ of Judge by ‘‘certain persons’’—Old and Edge 
indicated as the ‘‘ guilty persons’’—Mrs. Besant denies respon- 
sibility—says she sponsored charges for ‘‘Judge’s sake’’—ad- 
mits Judge is in communication with Masters—says the ‘‘mes- 
sages’’ in the ‘‘ Master’s script’’—but says she believes Masters 
did not ‘‘directly’’ precipitate them—acquits Judge of dishon- 
orable intentions—apologizes for her share in the case—asks 


ANALYTICAL TABLE OF CONTENTS Xxix 


PAGH 
Judge’s forgiveness ‘‘for wrongs done him’’—Oleott adds a 
footnote to Mrs. Besant’s Statement—says he asked her to 
make the charges—betrays himself—Judge makes his Statement 
—says he did not couple Mrs. Besant’s name with the charges 
to save her—denies ‘‘forging the handwriting of Mahatmas’’— 
admits having delivered Messages—affirms their genuineness— 
refuses to say how they were done—denies right of anyone to 
make unverifiable charges—says anyone can receive Messages 
who ‘‘lives the life’’—never tried to influence others—says 
handwriting, seals and ‘‘precipitation’’ not a ‘‘proof’’ that 
Messages are from Masters—forgives his enemies—Mrs. Besant’s 
and Mr. Judge’s Statements analyzed and compared—the British 
Convention unanimously accepts the Statements made and de- 
clares the ‘‘ Judge ease’’ a ‘‘closed incident’’—the ‘‘ Occultism 
and Truth’’ circular distributed after adjournment of the Con- 
vention—Mrs. Besant’s Lucifer article on the ‘‘ Judicial En- 
quiry’’—her evasions and misrepresentations—the signers of the 
‘“Occultism and Truth’’ circular—show who were behind the 
persecution of Judge—what ‘‘possessed’’ his defamers—were 
Mrs. Besant, Olcott and the rest deliberate malicious assassins of 
reputation of Judge?—they were ‘‘occult failures’’—could not 
discriminate between truth and falsehood—moved by the same 
self-righteous relentlessness as religious bigots in all times— 
Olcott’s Parthian shot after the Convention—his article on 
‘“T.S. Solidarity and Ideals.’’ 


CHAPTER XX XI. Tue ‘‘ EASTERN DIVISION’’ AND ‘‘ WEsT- 
ERN DIVvISION’’ hs RU ae inten Wa a ook dns bios ties Bee HO 


The calm after the storm of the ‘‘ Judicial Committee’’ in July, 
1894—+the lesson of the ‘‘ Enquiry’ ’—‘‘ occult phenomena cannot 
be proved’’—no part of the business of the Theosophical So- 
ciety—phenomena no evidence of morality or ethics—can be per- 
formed by mediums and ‘‘black magicians’’ as well as Chelas 
and Adepts—H.P.B.’s mission philosophical and ethical—not to 
supply a demonstration of the Occult Sciences—her phenomena 
incidental and unavoidable to her Mission—phenomena never 
made public by either H.P.B. or Judge in first instance—the 
‘“Judge case’’ a testing out of the ‘‘ Esoteric Section’ ’—fur- 
ther extracts from the Preliminary Memorandum—trules and pur- 
pose of the E.S.T.—conduct of Olcott, Besant, ef al., gross vio- 
lation of their own Pledges in Ocecultism—clear evidence of their 
total failure as ‘‘probationary Chelas’’—the warnings given to 
Mrs. Besant in the School—aftermath of the ‘‘Judicial En- 
quiry’’’—how the matter was settled for the time in the E.S.T. 
—the joint circular of Mrs. Besant and Mr. Judge to the Mem- 
bers, August, 1894—its history and re-organization recited—the 
agreement reached—Mrs. Besant to conduct the ‘‘ Eastern Divi- 
sion’’ and Mr. Judge the ‘‘ Western Division’ ’—‘‘time must be 
allowed’’ for the restoration of tranquillity—Mr. Judge the 
real Agent of H.P.B. in the School—Mrs. Besant ‘‘ Recorder of 
the teachings’’—her failure as ‘‘ Recorder’’—her corruption of 
the ‘‘Secret Doctrine’’—her spurious Third Volume—her bold- 
ness in publishing misrepresentations of fact and philosophy— 
she puts an utter falsehood in the mouth of H.P.B.—declares 
H.P.B. ‘‘professed faith in the gods’’—Mrs. Besant’s loss of 
ethical balance whenever her statements questioned or her ac- 
tions impugned. 


XXX ANALYTICAL TABLE OF CONTENTS 


PAGH 
CHAPTER XXXII. Westminster Gazette ATTACKS THE 
SOCIETY ME ie ey boike: U i Le jeillincs eihelh Diy Nt § SAU aa Eas 25 


The situation in the early fall of 1894—Judge returns to 
America—Oleott and Keightley return to India—Mrs. Besant 
goes to Australia—Walter Old remains in England—renews the 
fight on Judge—evidences of collusion—Old provides Edmund 
Garrett with ammunition—Garrett opens a grand assault in the 
Westminster Gagette—ridicules Theosophy—pokes fun at Olcott 
and Mrs. Besant—calls them dupes of H.P.B. and Judge—Gar- 
rett an honest man—avows his animus—declares himself enemy 
of Theosophy—his purpose to destroy T.S.—his series of articles 
published in book form—their tremendous circulation and ef- 
fect—Old writes the Gazette—admits his complicity—regrets to 
drag in Mrs. Besant and Oleott—exposes his enmity to Judge 
—confesses unwittingly the secret conference at Adyar, Christ- 
mas, 1893—the ‘‘Judge case’’ planned then by Old, Besant, 
Oleott and others—decries H.P.B. as well as Judge—the enemies 
of Judge moved by ‘‘pride and wounded vanity’’—the steps 
taken by Judge after the Westminster Gazette attack—his 
letter to the New York Sun and the Gazette—his famous E.S.T. 
Circular of November 3, 1894—‘‘By Master’s Order’’ he tells 
the E.8.T. members the whole story—‘‘black magic’’ versus 
‘“white magic’?’—Mrs. Besant the unconscious tool and victim 
of Chakravarti—the real issue between the Brahminism of the 
Orient and the Theosophy of H.P.B.—the Society will stand or 
fall by H.P.B.—deposes Mrs. Besant from her Co-Headship in 
the E.S.T.—Judge informs Mrs. Besant in Australia by cable of 
his action—Mrs. Besant’s circular from Colombo, December 18, 
1894, in reply to Judge’s—defies Judge—misrepresents the 
facts of the Meeting of May 27, 1891—declares herself 
‘*H.P.B.’s Suecessor’’—Mrs. Besant’s circular analyzed—its 
falsity shown. 


CHAPTER XXXIITI. Mrs. Besant Trizs to Drive JUDGE 
OUT. OPATHEDOCIETY it) wil On, seo Wee Oe creer ao 


The war on Judge breaks out more fiercely than ever—Mrs. 
Besant proceeds to India—publishes long article in Madras Mail 
—-sends violent attack on Judge to the London Daily Chronicle 
—attends the Adyar Convention at end of December, 1894— 
Oleott’s Presidential Address—calls Judge a medium—Mrs. 
Besant introduces Resolutions against Judge—demands that 
Judge resign—her bitter speech—the whole proceedings plainly 
planned in advanee—the long list of denunciatory speeches— 
Miss Muller’s infamous remarks—not a voice raised in defense 
of Judge—not a demand made for fair dealing—Mrs. Besant’s 
Resolutions unanimously adopted—next day’s Indian Convention 
—more denunciation of Judge—Resolutions adopted demanding 
an ‘‘explanation’’ from Judge or his expulsion from the Society 
—coincident steps in England—George Mead first deprecates 
Old’s and the Westminster Gazette articles—then hears from 
Mrs, Besant—then begins the ‘‘Clash of Opinion’’ in Lucifer 
—publishes letters from Old and others assailing Judge—prints 
Mrs. Besant’s Indian attacks on Judge—Bertram Keightley 
follows suit—Alexander Fullerton like Mead is between two 
fires—first for Judge and then against—Mrs. Besant’s former 


ANALYTICAL TABLE OF CONTENTS Xxxi 


PAGH 
triumphal tour of India repeated—she returns to England in 
April, 1894—issues her pamphlet ‘‘The Case Against W. Q. 
Judge’ ’—demands his expulsion from the T.S. 


CHAPTER XXXIV. THE AMERICAN SECTION DECLARES ITs 
AUTONOMY AND ELEcts JUDGE Its Lire-PRESIDENT . 622 


Proceedings in America—Judge writes the Westminster Gazette 
and New York Sun—deals with situation fully and frankly— 
publishes ‘‘The Prayag Letter’? in The Path for March, 1895 
—declares it a genuine ‘‘message from the Masters’’—the his- 
tory of the ‘‘Prayag Message’’—originally sent in 1881—from 
Masters to Brahmins—sent through H.P.B.—Judge throws down 
the gauntlet to his adversaries—says whole ‘‘case’’ against him 
due to his defense of H.P.B.—makes public that Olcott, Mrs. 
Besant, Sinnett and others have been making privately same 
charges against H.P.B.—invites Col. Olcott and Mrs. Besant 
to make public statement regarding ‘‘The Prayag Letter’’—The 
‘“Message’’ in full—Mrs,. Besant replies in Lucifer—‘‘I do not 
regard the message as genuine’’—Oleott comes out in the open 
—his ‘‘Postseript’’ in the Supplement to The Theosophist for 
April, 1895—‘‘the message a false one’’—‘‘the simple theory 
of mediumship’’ accounts for H.P.B.—Sinnett says ‘‘I never in 
my life called Mme. Blavatsky a fraud’’—the proof positive out 
of Sinnett’s own mouth that he did just that—the original of 
the ‘‘Prayag message’’ in the handwriting of H.P.B.—the orig- 
inal was in Sinnett’s hands all the time—published since his 
death in The Mahatma Letters to A. P. Sinnett—both Judge 
and H.P.B. vindicated completely by the text of the Mahatma 
Letters—the American Convention of April, 1895—The Con- 
vention adopts Resolutions to withdraw officially from the T.S. 
and become The Theosophical Society in America—adopts a 
Constitution—elects Judge President for life—draws up a Letter 
to the forthcoming British Convention—text of the Letter—the 
British Convention meets July 4, 1895—tables the Letter from 
the American Theosophists—split in the British Convention— 
Oleott issues another Executive Notice—admits legality of the 
action of the American Convention—cancels all diplomas and 
charter of Americans—refuses all official intercourse—expresses 
good-will—Judge’s ‘‘Reply’’ to Mrs. Besant’s ‘‘Case against 
W. Q. Judge’’—the ‘‘Case’’ analyzed—never any evidence 
against Judge—the whole ‘‘Case’’ rests on suspicions and 
‘‘ psychic revelations.’’ 


CHAPTER XXXV. JUDGE’S DEATH AND THE TINGLEY 
‘* SUCCESSORSHIP”’ . . OG 


After the split in 1895—Mrs. Besant alters the «Pledge? 

puts her own and Leadbeater’s writings on a par with H.P.B.’s 
—Judge holds true to the line—but sickens and dies March 21, 
1896—The Tingley ‘‘Successorship’’ myth—E. T. Hargrove 
and others hold a ‘‘General E.S.T. Meeting,’’ March 29, 1896— 
they announce to the members that ‘‘ Judge left an occult heir ’’ 

—the cireular of April 3, 1896—the statements of the ‘‘Coun- 
ceil’? and the “Minutes?” of the meeting of March 29—the 
identity of the ‘‘Successor’’ to be kept secret for one year— 
the whole claim rests on ‘‘messages’’ from the dead W. Q. 
Judge—not a scrap in the physical handwriting of the living 
W. Q. Judge produced then or sinee—the real explanation—the 


Xxxii ANALYTICAL TABLE OF CONTENTS 


PAGH 
secret meeting at Mrs. Tingley’s home on March 26, 1896—the 
American Theosophists accept the Tingley ‘‘Successorship’’— 
the Convention of 1896—Mrs. Tingley disclosed as the ‘‘Suc- 
cessor’’—the ‘‘Crusade’’—frictions begin—Hargrove resigns 
—another secret meeting at Mrs. Tingley’s home—the ‘‘ Uni- 
versal Brotherhood’’ planned—the Convention of February, 1898 
—Hargrove and his friends ‘‘bolt’’ the Convention—the war of 
recriminations—the members follow Mrs. Tingley—Hargrove’s 
‘‘E.S.T.’’ cireular—the degradation of both wings of the old 
Society—offshoots from Tingleyism—Hargrove’s ‘‘T.S. in A.’’ 
—the ‘‘Temple of the People’’—the ‘‘T.S. of New York’’— 
Dr. Buck and ‘‘The T.K.’’—Mrs. Alice L. Cleather and her 
‘‘pupils’’—the ‘‘Blavatsky Association’’—the Besant-Oleott 
fragment—Leadbeater the ‘‘ power behind the throne’’ of Mrs. 
Besant—Leadbeater admits infamous teachings to boys—resigns 
from the T.S.—Oleott dies—Mrs. Besant claims ‘‘Successor- 
ship’’ to President-Founder—More charges and counter-charges 
—Leadbeater invited back to the T.S.—the ‘‘Coming Christ’ ’— 
the ‘‘Liberal Catholic Churech’’—complete reversion of the 
T.S.—its offshoots—Dr. Rudolph Steiner and the ‘‘ Anthropo- 
sophical Society’’—Max Heindel and his ‘‘ Rosicrucian Cosmo- 
Conception’ ’—other ‘‘Occult’’ societies. 


CHAPTER XXXVI. PRESENT AND FUTURE OF THE THEO- 
SOPHICAL MOVEMENT. c00' to) 7) 25g Mae AR SR ee eee 


Has the Theosophical Movement been a failure?—Cyclic Law— 
Centenary efforts since fourteenth century—H.P.B.’s mission the 
fifth—Mediumship and psychism inevitable concomitants of the 
public Movement—the Movement has not failed—spread of 
Theosophical ideas—they permeate religion, philosophy and 
science to-day—the signs and evidences—the real aim of H.P.B. 
achieved—the Masters never fail—what of the future of the 
Theosophical Movement?—1925 its nadir point—the first and 
Seconds Sections still active as always—signs of their work— 
Nirmanakayas—true Disciples known by their fruits—Edmond 
Holmes—‘‘ The Creed of Buddha’’—the Angarika Dharmapala— 
B. P. Wadia—Julia H. Scott—Robert Crosbie—the United 
Lodge of Theosophists—the magazine Theosophy—the ‘‘chang- 
ing Buddhi-Manas of the race’’—due to inearnation of the 
pioneers of the ‘‘Sixth Sub-Race’’—the destiny of the Move- 
ment until 1975, 


THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


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THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


CHAPTER I 
CHANNELS OF THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


In its larger aspect the Theosophical Movement is the 
path of progress, individually and collectively. Wher- 
ever thought has struggled to be free, wherever spiritual 
ideas, as opposed to forms and dogmatism, have been 
promulgated, there the great Movement is to be discerned. 
Organized religions, systems of thought, governments, 
parties, sects—all have their origins in efforts for the 
better co-operation of men, for conserving energy and 
putting it to use. They all in time become corrupted and 
must change, as the times change, as human defects come 
out, and as the great underlying Spiritual and Intellectual 
evolution compels such alterations. 

Luther’s Reformation must be counted as a part of 
the Theosophical Movement. Masonry has played a great 
and important part in it, and still does to some extent, 
for however restricted in application, however its great 
symbolism may have been forgotten or obscured, 
Masonry none the less stands for tolerance, for religious 
and intellectual liberty, for charity. The formation of 
the American Republic with its noble Declaration of In- 
dependence, its equality of all men before the law, its 
ideals of brotherhood and freedom from sectarian re- 
ligious partialities must be accounted a great forward 
step in the Theosophical Movement. And with the aboli- 
tion of human slavery in all the great Western nations 
during the course of the nineteenth century, another great 
step in the emancipation of the race must be acclaimed. 
The ‘‘divine right’’ of an orthodox God speaking through 

1 


2 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


a vested clergy was rebelled against in every voice raised 
against the Catholic hierarchy. The ‘‘divine right’’ of 
kings was overthrown by the American and French Revo- 
lutions. The ‘‘divine right’’ of one man or set of men to 
enslave another or others was the real issue involved in 
the American Civil War, and the emancipation of the 
serfs in Russia. Nationalism, socialism, universal suf- 
frage, struggles between classes, between labor and capi- 
tal, are all physical and metaphysical efforts toward 
freedom from bondage, however they may be mistaken, 
misguided, misled, perverted to selfish and destructive 
purposes and ends. 

The principle of an underlying Spiritual and Intellec- 
tual evolution proceeding apace with its visible manifesta- 
tion in physical effects, will disclose unerringly that the 
formation of the Society and the injection of the litera- 
ture of Theosophy into the mind of the race must have 
been preceded and accompanied by collateral efforts and 
resultants. Those indirect preparations must necessarily 
be as varied as the varieties of human experience and 
belief regarding fundamental things. And those prepara- 
tions do not issue in the first instance from any human 
invention or discovery, although the characters of certain 
individual human beings can be and must be the chan- 
nels, conscious or unconscious, for the play of higher 
forces and the inspiration of higher Intelligence. The 
course of all evolution is first Spiritual, then Mental, then 
Personal to certain gifted individuals. From these latter 
it permeates gradually the race mind, impelling the whole 
mass forward and upward, in however slow or slight 
degree. ‘‘Evolution’’ appears as physical only to those 
who do not look beneath the surface of events. The real 
process of Nature is ever cyclic: from the highest to the 
lowest on the invisible side of Nature; correspondingly 
from the lowest to the highest on the visible side, as 
human vision is at present exercised in the fields of re- 
hgion, philosophy and science. 

Indirect but none the less potent and necessary con- 
comitants of the spiritual and psychical aspects of the 
Theosophical Movement should therefore be looked for 


CHANNELS OF THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 8 


in all directions. One of these was and is the great tide 
of interest in Oriental religions and philosophies. Until 
the work of Madame Helena Petrovna Blavatsky was well 
under way none but the conqueror, the merchant, the 
missionary and the philologist, each immersed in his own 
especial objects, had any concern with the Far Hast. 
The mass of the populations of the Western world were 
farther removed from the living East with its immense 
but alien wealth of metaphysical acquisitions, than from 
the dead and by-gone stores of ancient Greece and im- 
perial Rome. Generally speaking, it was unknown and 
unsuspected that the great leaders of early European 
civilization, no less than their modern successors, had in 
fact derived their inspiration and their learning from the 
exhaustless treasury of Oriental thought and practice. 

Beginning with Wilkins near the close of the eighteenth 
century, a series of translations of the ancient and ven- 
erated ‘‘Bhagavad-Gita’’ had successively been brought 
out in England, in Germany, in France and in the United 
States. The riches of the Vedanta philosophy had thus 
to some extent become accessible to aspiring minds in the 
West. Copies came into the possession of Thoreau and 
Kmerson. Emerson’s fame as a lecturer and writer and 
the nobility of his character made of him one of the most 
potent vehicles for the dissemination of the great and 
timeless ideas of the Hast. Through his life and work 
countless younger minds were given a freer range and 
truer basis, and by so much freed from the sterile and 
narrow dogmas of sectarian Christianity. Religion was 
seen by many not to be confined nor due to sects or spe- 
cial revelations. The celebrated ‘‘Brook Farm Com- 
munity’’ spread far and wide transcendental aspirations 
and increased the thirst for freedom from the bondage 
of prevailing ideas. 

Sir Edwin Arnold’s ‘‘Light of Asia’’ was published in 
1879, and read by hundreds of thousands in Hurope and 
America. Myriads of minds gained for the first time 
some true idea of the noble ethics and philosophy of 
Buddhism, and were amazed to find that for centuries 
antedating the time of Jesus his moral teachings had been 


4 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


imparted in their plenitude, coupled with a philosophy 
unknown to the Christian world at any time. Scholarly 
men began to give some heed other than purely scholastic 
to Oriental experience as embodied in its age-old literary 
remains. Despite the general contempt for ‘‘heathen”’ 
people and the exclusiveness of ignorance that had so 
long obtained, Western explorers began in earnest to ad- 
venture in search of the hereditary metaphysical pos- 
sessions of the Orient, much in the same fashion as other 
Western adventurers had long exploited by conquest or 
by theft the physical treasures of the sacred Hast. Wil- 
son’s translation of the ‘‘ Vishnu Purana’’ and Dr. Max 
Miller’s edition of the ‘‘Sacred Books of the Hast,’’ 
were part of the fruitage thus made accessible in the 
West. 

When Charles Darwin’s great work, ‘‘The Origin of 
Species by Means of Natural Selection,’’ appeared in 
1859, a powerful voice was raised against the deeply im- 
bedded ideas of miracle and special creation by an om- 
nipotent personal God, as engraved by centuries of dog- 
matic theologies. Mr. Darwin’s work was not intended 
as an attack either on revealed religion or the dead-letter 
creeds, but was limited to the presentation of an immense 
accumulation of ascertained facts in natural history, and 
to the submission of inferences drawn with inescapable 
logic from the facts thus far amassed. It was perhaps 
the most brilliant example in history of sustained induc- 
tive reasoning. It showed and proved physical man to 
be no ‘‘special creation,’’ but an evolutionary part of the 
‘‘natural order of things.’’ ‘‘The Origin of Species,’’ 
and its supplement, ‘‘The Descent of Man,’’ published in 
1871, were purely scientific works in the best sense of the 
term. The ‘‘Darwinian theory’’ was received by the 
educated world with profound interest, followed by a 
tidal wave of revulsion as its bearing and effects upon 
eurrent Christian dogmas and interpretations of the Bi- 
ble were perceived. It was attacked on every hand and 
its author was subjected to every form of ridicule, slan- 
der and calumny that religious bigotry, ever the most 
fertile in malice and malevolence, could invent. Never- 


CHANNELS OF THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 5 


theless, as scientific students verified its compilations of 
physical facts and tried conclusions with its logic, the 
theory gained headway in spite of all the storms of oppo- 
sition. Its author lived to see his facts admitted, his 
conclusions accepted and adopted in whole or in part, 
even by his detractors. Corrupted and grotesquely dis- 
torted as the Darwinian theory has been in the interven- 
ing years, and however limited in its view of ‘‘evolution”’ 
from the standpoint of Occult philosophy, it none the 
less remains to this day the greatest advance in scientific 
hypotheses since the time of Newton, and aided largely 
in making possible the presentation of the triple evolu- 
tionary scheme outlined in the ‘‘Secret Doctrine.’’ 
Whatever the defects of the Darwinian theory, they are 
due to no lack of honesty, zeal nor industry on the part 
of its great author, but rather to the limitations of his 
mode of research and to the inherent defect of all induc- 
tive reasoning. So immense has been the effect of the 
Darwinian theory of evolution on the ideas prevailing 
without question a generation ago, that it is very difficult 
for the average mind of today to realize how this theory 
of physical evolution could ever have been questioned, 
denied, opposed, vilified. 

In his ‘‘ History of Civilization in England,’’ a work 
foremost among the contributory factors we are discuss- 
ing, Mr. Henry T. Buckle sums up these lessons of the 
past which, in our opinion, are equally a prophecy of the 
future of Theosophy and the Theosophical Movement, 
however unconscious Mr. Buckle may have been of the 
immense reach of the spiritual and intelligent Agencies 
at work behind the scenes of human life. In the first 
volume of his work, which appeared in 1857, Mr. Buckle 
writes (p. 207): 


Owing to circumstances still unknown there 
appear from time to time great thinkers who 
devoting their lives to a single purpose are able 
to anticipate the progress of mankind, and to 
produce a religion or a philosophy by which im- 
portant events are eventually brought about. 


6 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


But if we look into history we shall clearly see 
that, although the origin of a new opinion may 
be thus due to a single man, the result which 
the new opinion produces will depend on the con- 
dition of the people among whom it is propa-_ 
gated. If either a religion or a philosophy is too 
much in advance of a nation, it can do no present 
service, but must bide its time until the minds 
of men are ripe for its reception. . . . Eivery sci- 
ence, every creed has had its martyrs. Accord- 
ing to the ordinary course of affairs, a few gen- 
erations pass away, and then there comes a 
period when these very truths are looked upon 
as common-place facts, and a little later there 
comes another period in which they are declared 
to be necessary, and even the dullest intellect 
wonders how they could ever have been denied. 


The student of Theosophy knows that the ‘‘circum- 
stances still unknown” to Mr. Buckle, but which he in- 
tuitively recognized to exist, are in fact due to the Kar- 
mic provision of Spiritual and Intellectual evolution. 
Under Karmic Law, at transitional periods in the cyclic 
progression of Humanity, great Adepts restore to man- 
kind through both direct and indirect channels some of 
the Wisdom once ‘‘known,’’ but which in the lapse of 
time has become lost or obscured during the complexi- 
ties of physical and personal evolution. For it must not 
be overlooked by the student that these Elder Brothers 
are themselves a part of the very stream of evolution in 
which we belong. As such, They take an active, albeit 
undisclosed and but too often unperceived, share in the 
government of the natural order of things. And although 
this part of the operation of cyclic law is often delayed 
and defied by the ignorance and prejudice of mankind 
in general, each rise and fall of civilizations is succeeded 
by a regeneration and further progression. 

Other constructive factors in the preparatory work of 
the Theosophical Movement in our time may be seen in 
the great and sudden leap (from the standpoint of racial 


CHANNELS OF THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 7 


and national cycles) in invention, discovery, trade, the 
means and methods of transportation, manufacture, and 
utilization of all the raw materials in Nature—all making 
in one way and another for inter-dependence, inter-com- 
munication, inter-respect in the great human family, and 
the consequent breaking down of the barriers of Nature, 
of human insularity and separateness: a harrowing of 
the soil, whether by the means of war or peace, as a 
necessary prelude for once more sowing in that soil the 
seeds of Brotherhood. And in the political field the 
great careers of Abraham Lincoln, of John Bright, of 
Mazzini, and many others, all made for the Rights 
of Man, as opposed to the forces of reaction. 

In an iconoclastic sense an equally necessary and valu- 
able pioneer work in the breaking of the molds of fixed 
ideas into which human thought forever tends to erystal- 
lize, can be discerned in the work of such men as Robert 
G. Ingersoll in America, Charles Bradlaugh in England, 
and, in the church, by such men as Charles Kingsley and 
W. HE. Channing. Whether apparently pursuing the path 
of agnosticism, of a purely socialistic and materialistic 
altruism, or of a liberalized orthodoxy, the efforts of all 
these commanded a wide following and broke to a large 
extent the hold of bigotry and intolerance. Philosophical 
speculations like those of Herbert Spencer, the esthetic 
spirit of men like Ruskin, the rebellious mind of Carlyle, 
the insubordination to the harrow of conventional ideas 
of writers like Dickens, George Eliot, Balzac, Tolstoy, 
Walt Whitman, and many others, all aided in the pioneer 
work of the Theosophical Movement. They may all be 
said to have fought for the unrestricted domain of the 
individual conscience, the larger outlook upon human 
life and human duty, as opposed to the zpse diait of any 
‘‘thus saith the Lord.’’ All these individual and col- 
lective factors, some, perhaps, dimly conscious of the 
germinal force at work within themselves, others aware 
only of the travail without issue of human existence— 
all were of value. All that in any way has made, or 
that makes, possible the arousal of serious attention to 
the Second and Third Objects of the Parent Theosophi- 


8 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


cal Society, all that facilitates the revolt of the mind 
and conscience from ecreedal exclusiveness, all that might 
turn men from the sordid materialism of a one-life ex- 
istence devoted to the pursuit of physical well-being— 
all this is truly a concurrent part of the Theosophical 
Movement, and necessary to any attempt at the practical 
realization of its First Object—Universal Brotherhood, 
the life of service as opposed to the life for self. 

The ideas represented by such terms as revealed re- 
ligion, a favored people, a personal God, miracles, heaven 
gained by an ‘‘act of faith,’’ a ‘‘vicarious atonement,”’ 
selfish personal salvation—the fetters forged by many 
centuries of ecclesiastical usurpation of authority over 
the ignorant mind and conscience: all these veritable 
Bastilles of moral and mental tyranny were under as- 
sault or siege during a large part of the nineteenth cen- 
tury. Their lettres de cachet no longer sufficed to im- 
prison or outcast the individual mind, to forfeit the 
reputable estate of the individual rebel against the ‘‘es- 
tablished order.’’ If the mind of the race could not be 
said to have been in revolution against spiritual and men- 
tal intolerance, it was none the less true that every- 
where could be found sincere and reverent-minded men 
in outspoken rebellion against the dominant and domi- 
nating ideas of centuries. The ‘‘millennium’’ of sec- 
tarian religion was drawing to a close. Agnosticism, 
infidelity, bold questioning of the foundations hitherto 
esteemed inviolate, were no longer branded with the 
brand of infamy by the all-powerful sects, because the 
sects were no longer all-powerful. A spirit of liberty, 
often of license mistaken for liberty, was abroad in Eu- 
rope and America. Even in India the Brahmo-Somaj of 
Ramohun Roy and his successors had begun to undermine 
the ancient walls of creed and caste. 

Spiritualism had perhaps more to do than any other 
single factor in producing among millions that transi- 
tional state of mind into which the granite ideas of cen- 
turies had begun to disintegrate. This Ishmael among 
faiths, under many names and proscriptions, is as old 
as the history and tradition of the race. In its modern 


CHANNELS OF THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 9 


form it began with the mediumistic manifestations of the 
Fox sisters at Rochester in New York State, U.S.A., 
in 1848. In the ensuing twenty-five or thirty years it 
spread, in spite of the most relentless opposition of the 
orthodox Christian sects, despite the ridicule of scien- 
tific students and the incredulity of the general public, 
despite also the real or pretended exposures of many of 
the most noted mediums, until its believers were num- 
bered by millions in America, England, France, and in 
lesser numbers in other countries. Most celebrated of 
the mediums following the Fox sisters were the Amer- 
icans, Andrew Jackson Davis, his disciple Thomas Lake 
Harris, P. B. Randolph, Daniel Dunglas Home, the 
Davenport brothers, Henry Slade, Mrs. Emma H. 
Britten, and the Eddy brothers. All these were accused 
of fraud times without number, and some of them were 
made the victims of persecution. Nevertheless, the 
genuineness, variety and extent of their phenomena 
were attested by numbers of famous investigators of 
the highest character. Notable among those who from 
sceptical experimenters became convinced believers in 
the reality of the manifestations were Dr. Robert 
Hare of Philadelphia, Epes Sargent, Judge Edmunds, 
the noted lawyer, Dr. Robert Chambers, Col. Olcott, 
and many other men of mark in America. In England 
Profs. Wiliam Crookes, Alfred Russel Wallace, Lodge, 
C. C. Massey, Lord Borthwick, Lord Lindsay, Sergeant 
Cox, and other men of the highest standing accepted 
the evidences after searching tests. In Germany the 
famous Prof. Zollner held prolonged sittings with Slade 
and others and published his conclusions and theories 
in the work, ‘‘Transcendental Physics,’’ dealing with 
the phenomena as a problem in the ‘‘fourth dimen- 
sion.’’ In France the Emperor Napoleon and his wife, 
and in Russia the Czar and his consort became the 
firm friends and followers of Mr. D. D. Home. The 
papers of the Russian savant, Dr. A. Aksakoff, show 
how profound was his interest in the new phenomena. 
Leon-Denizarth-Hippolyte Rivail, author of numerous 
popular and educational scientific texts for IHrench 


10 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


schools, became so interested in the phenomena and so 
convinced of their value in establishing communication 
with discarnate intelligences, that he devoted his entire 
time to study and experiments. In order that the preju- 
dices thus aroused should not interfere with his estab- 
lished writings and reputation he adopted the pseudonym 
of ‘‘Allan Kardee,’’ by which he is now almost univer- 
sally known. Contrary to the general supposition, Allan 
Kardec was not himself a medium. All his experiments 
were conducted at second hand. He published two books 
of enormous circulation, the ‘‘ Book of Spirits,’’ and the 
‘Book of Mediums,’’ both of which were translated into 
English. The French editions alone of ‘‘Le Livre des 
Esprits’? attained a circulation of more than one hun- 
dred and twenty thousand copies in the twenty years 
following the publication of the ‘‘revised edition’’ in 
1857. It was Allan Kardec who, more than any other, 
made systematic efforts to establish a philosophy of 
Spiritualism from the communications he obtained 
through carefully chosen mediums. 

The spread of Spiritualism was greatly facilitated by 
a number of factors. It required no education, no study, 
' no moral discipline, on the part either of the medium 
‘ or the believer. Its phenomena were not essentially 
antagonistic to religion, and the communications received 
more often than otherwise repeated the platitudes of the 
churches. In fact nearly every noted medium or reputa- 
ble proponent of the phenomena was still more or less 
orthodox in his acceptance of the fundamental dogmas 
of the Christian creeds. To the bereaved who might 
be more or less sceptical or indifferent to orthodox teach- 
ings regarding after-death states, Spiritualism made a 
profound appeal, for it offered the prospect of immediate 
assurance and consolation. To the materialistic and the 
curious-minded it offered a fascinating subject for facile 
experimentation. Nor ean it be doubted that in the in- 
creasing dilemma of many, due to the Darwinian theory 
of physical evolution, Spiritualism offered an attractive 
middle ground of experimental evidence that enabled 
them, without too great sacrifice of cherished religious 


CHANNELS OF THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 11 


convictions or logical common-sense, both to hold on to 
hereditary Christian ideas and to accept the theory of 
‘‘evolution.’’ And in this compromise many were doubt- 
less moved by the example of Prof. Wallace, co-originator 
with Mr. Darwin of his theory. Prof. Wallace was him- 
self a Spiritualist and a believer in Christianity, even if 
not altogether orthodox in his faith. 

In a single generation Spiritualism, from being a 
pariah both as to its phenomena and its many theories, 
became almost respectable. Modern science, hitherto 
deaf, dumb and blind towards everything but the em- 
pirical acquisition of physical facts and hypotheses based 
on them, began, reluctantly and suspiciously, but still 
began, to take note of the phenomena of the metaphysi- 
eal, which, if true, compelled the admission of other 
factors than ‘‘force and matter’’ as the causative agencies 
of the phenomenal world. But the general attitude of 
scientific students towards Spiritualism affords a curi- 
ous parallel to the attitude of the theologians toward 
Darwinism: first derision and contempt, then wholesale 
denial and opposition, then grudging acceptance in part. 

Into this mighty arena of contending forces entered 
H. P. Blavatsky with her Theosophical Society and her 
first public exposition of Theosophy. Looking back- 
wards from the safe distance of the intervening years, 
something of the significance of the mighty struggle 
between orthodox Christianity and modern material- 
istic science, between both these and the changeling, 
Spiritualism, can now be discerned in the light of his- 
tory—a light necessarily denied all the active combatants 
except H.P.B. herself. That she saw and foresaw what 
was and was to be, and was herself under no illusions, 
is very clearly indicated in the Preface of ‘‘Isis Un- 
veiled’’ alone, without going deeper into the abundant 
evidences. Bitterly as theology and science might be 
opposed to each other with spear and trident, each was, 
at the last quarter of the nineteenth century, equally hos- 
tile to the new combatant, Spiritualism, armed with its 
net of weird phenomena and strange theories. Alone, 
friendly to all the gladiators, but without a solitary un- 


12 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


derstanding ally among them, H.P.B. came equipped 
with an unknown knowledge and an unknown purpose 
which must serve her for both sword and shield. It 
was too much for her to hope, however vast the recon- 
structive forces loosed by her in the world of public 
opinion, that those forces, their source, their scope and 
their significance, would be grasped by any but the very 
few. Nor did she expect that their effect on the mind 
of the race would be altogether and immediately con- 
structive, however beneficent her purpose might be. Nor 
could she look for other than a hostile and retardative 
reception at the hands of vested and mercenary interests, 
the ignorant and the dogmatic, the predatory and con- 
tentious. Although her aim was to elevate the mind of 
the race, her method could only be to deal with that mind 
as she found it, by trying to lead it on, step by step; by 
seeking out and educating a few who, appreciating the 
majesty of the eternal Wisdom-Religion and devoted to 
‘the great orphan—humanity,’’ could carry on her work 
with zeal and wisdom; by founding a society which, how- 
ever small its numbers might be, would inject into the 
thought of the day the ideas, the doctrines, the nomen- 
clature of the Wisdom-Religion. 


CHAPTER IT 
THE PARENT THEOSOPHICAL SOCIETY 


THE Theosophical Movement of the nineteenth century 
was publicly inaugurated with the founding of the The- 
osophical Society at New York City. 

By birth a Russian of noble family, Madame Blavatsky 
had been a wanderer for more than twenty years in many 
lands, oriental and occidental. She had twice or thrice 
been in the Americas, North and South, before coming 
to New York in July of 1873. She lived in retirement 
there and in Brooklyn for more than a year. In October 
of 1874 she journeyed to the Eddy farmhouse near Chit- 
tenden, Vermont, and there made the acquaintance of 
Col. Henry S. Olcott. 

Colonel Oleott was an American and had acquired 
his title in the American Civil War. He had been agri- 
cultural editor of the New York Tribune, had written 
many articles for various publications on many subjects, 
had been admitted to the bar, and was at the time a 
well-known lawyer, with a very wide acquaintance among 
prominent men. For many years he had been a Spiritual- 
ist. Interested in an account he had seen of the mani- 
festations taking place through the mediumship of the 
Kiddy brothers, he had visited Chittenden in July and 
written an account of what he had witnessed for the New 
York Sun. This article was copied and commented on in 
many publications. In September Col. Olcott returned 
to the Eddy place under commission to investigate the 
phenomena and report on them to the New York Graphic. 
It was while he was engaged in this congenial work that 
Madame Blavatsky arrived at Chittenden. 

Although Madame Blavatsky apparently took no part 
in the proceedings other than as a visitor and inter- 
ested witness, Col. Olcott noted that the phenomena 

13 


14 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


changed greatly in character and variety immediately 
after her arrival. He was so impressed by what he saw 
and by his conversations with Madame Blavatsky that 
he followed up the acquaintance after her return to 
New York. 

At the request of Madame Blavatsky he introduced to 
her a young lawyer of his acquaintance named William 
Q. Judge. Mr. Judge was of Irish parentage, and had 
been brought by his family to America while still a boy. 
From his earliest years he had been markedly religious 
in temperament, and, as he grew older, had delved in 
religions, philosophies, mystical writings, Mesmerism, 
Spiritualism, and kindred subjects. He was many years 
younger than either Madame Blavatsky or Col. Olcott, 
who were born, respectively, in 1831 and 1832, while 
Mr. Judge’s birth date was 1851. Both Col. Olcott and 
Mr. Judge became pupils of Madame Blavatsky and 
passed all their available time in her company. 

In the winter of 1874-5 Madame Blavatsky was in 
Philadelphia, where she made the acquaintance of several 
noted Spiritualists. With them and Col. Oleott she 
attended the séances of Mr. and Mrs. Holmes and others. 
Certain sceptical investigators having attacked in the 
press the genuineness of the Eddy and Holmes phe- 
nomena, and questioned the bona fides of any medium- 
ship, both Col. Oleott and Madame Blavatsky replied 
vigorously, defending the fact of mediumship itself, 
and urging the necessity for impartial investigation of 
the claims of Spiritualism, both as to its philosophy and 
its alleged facts. This was Madame Blavatsky’s first ap- 
pearance in print in the English language. The pe- 
culiarities of her style of expression, the boldness of 
her statements, the apparent range of her knowledge 
on the subject, all conspired to attract the attention of 
Spiritualists, investigators, and the public generally. 

In January, 1875, Col. Olcott’s book, ‘‘People From 
the Other World,’’ was issued, describing in detail the 
Kiddy and Holmes phenomena, and giving a curiosity- 
provoking account of Madame Blavatsky. Whatever 
opinion any reader may form of the marvels described, 


THE PARENT THEOSOPHICAL SOCIETY 15 


or of Col. Olcott’s comments and conclusions, there can 
be no question of his good faith. Nor, as the book was 
written during the very period of the occurrences, can 
there be any question that it reflects accurately the opin- 
ions and state of mind of Col. Olcott at the time. 

On Madame Blavatsky’s return to New York from 
Philadelphia she took apartments at 46 Irving Place. 
The wonders recited by Col. Olcott and her own letters 
to the newspapers had drawn so much attention to her 
that her rooms became a center of attraction. Nearly 
every evening was given over to visitors. One of the 
newspaper reporters dubbed her apartment ‘‘the lama- 
sery,’’ and the name quickly became current as typifying 
the flavor of mystery surrounding her and the subjects 
discussed at her soirées. To these evening gatherings 
eame Spiritualists, Kabalists, Platonists, students of 
modern science and of ancient mysteries, the profane, 
the sceptical, the curious and the seekers after the mar- 
velous. Colonel Olcott and Mr. Judge were nearly al- 
ways present, and, after the departure of the casual 
visitors, would remain far into the night immersed in 
study and discussion. 

In their many conversations she told them more or 
less of her travels and their purpose. Amongst other 
experiences she had endeavored unsuccessfully to estab- 
lish a group at Cairo, Egypt, in 1871, to investigate the 
rationale of mediumship and its phenomena. Moved by 
what he had seen and heard, no less than by his ardent 
desire to explore more deeply the phenomena which fas- 
cinated him, Col. Olcott had proposed, as early as May, 
1875, to form a secret ‘‘miracle club’’ for the production 
and examination of phenomena. Colonel Olcott’s own 
account, written many years after the event, states that 
the ‘‘miracle club’’ plan failed because the expected 
medium could not be obtained for the experiments he 
desired to conduct. The fact that he was so fascinated by 
the phenomena privately performed by Madame Bla- 
vatsky in exposition of her theories, that he thought her 
‘infallible’? and her Masters ‘‘miracle workers,’’ would 
indicate that the ‘‘expected medium’’ was none other 


16 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


than Madame Blavatsky herself, and that the failure of 
his attempt was due to her refusal, then as thereafter 
throughout her career, to lend herself to the production 
of phenomena under his or anyone’s directions, or for 
the purposes he and others desired. 

On the evening of September 7, 1875, a talk was given 
in Madame Blavatsky’s apartment by a Mr. G. H. Felt, 
who had been a student of Kgyptian mysticism, and who 
professed to be able to control ‘‘elementals.’’ While 
the assemblage was discussing the talk, Col. Olcott wrote 
on a slip of paper which he handed to Mr. Judge these 
words: ‘‘Would it not be a good thing to form a society 
for this kind of study?’’ Mr. Judge read the paper, 
passed it to Madame Blavatsky, who nodded assent, and 
then Mr. Judge proposed that the assemblage come to 
order and that Col. Olcott act as chairman to consider 
the proposal. Another meeting was arranged for the 
following evening at Madame Blavatsky’s rooms and at 
that time sixteen persons gave in their names as being 
willing to join in founding a society for Occult study. 
Other meetings were held at Col. Olcott’s law offices, and 
at the residence of Mrs. Emma Hardinge Britten in 
furtherance of the proposed society. On September 13 
the name, The Theosophical Society, was chosen. On 
October 16 a preamble and by-laws were adopted. On 
October 30 additional names were added to the list of 
‘*Hounders,’’ and Officers and a Council were elected. 
The principal Officers were Col. Olcott as President, 
Madame Blavatsky as Corresponding Secretary, and Mr. 
Judge as Counsel. On the evening of November 17 a 
formal meeting was held at Mott Memorial Hall, 64 
Madison Avenue. Colonel Olcott delivered an ‘‘Inaugural 
Address’’ and 500 copies of this address were ordered 
electrotyped ‘‘for immediate distribution.”’ 

Thereafter, stated meetings continued to be held from 
time to time; various talks and lectures were given, much 
discussion ensued and many plans for experimentation 
in phenomena were proposed. Neither Madame Bla- 
vatsky nor Mr. Judge took any active part in the meet- 
ings after the first few sessions. The former busied 


THE PARENT THEOSOPHICAL SOCIETY 17 


herself in correspondence, in communications to the 
press, in discussion with the steady stream of visitors 
to ‘‘the lamasery,’’ and in the writing of ‘‘Isis Unveiled.’’ 
Mr. Judge, occupied with the necessities of his daily 
living, gave his evenings to study under Madame Bla- 
vatsky’s direction and instruction. Colonel Olcott alone 
was active in the meetings of the Society. Additional 
Fellows were admitted from time to time, both Active 
and Corresponding, and great efforts made to procure 
phenomena. Mr. Felt’s promised revelations failed to 
materialize and after a time he left the Society, as did 
most of the other early members when it was found 
that the expectations aroused were not fulfilled. Very 
early in the history of the Society Mr. Felt had exacted 
a pledge of secrecy regarding the disclosures he had 
promised to make, and this was signed, at his and Col. 
Oleott’s request, by most of the attendant Fellows. It 
was this pledge which was many years later published 
in the New York Herald as the original pledge of secrecy 
of the Theosophical Society, and afterwards incorpor- 
ated in ‘‘Hours With the Ghosts,’’ by Henry Ridgely 
Evans, published by Laird & Lee, Chicago, in 1897. The 
material for the Herald attacks was supplied by Mr. 
Henry J. Newton, one of the original Founders, who 
had been elected Treasurer of the Society at its incep- 
tion. He was a well-known and ardent Spiritualist who 
became bitterly hostile to the Society after the publica- 
tion of ‘‘Isis Unveiled.’’ Others among the Founders 
were Mrs. Emma Hardinge Britten and her husband 
Dr. Britten. Both were Spiritualists and Mrs. Britten 
was herself a versatile medium, very widely known 
as the author or reputed author of ‘‘Ghostland,’’ ‘‘ Art 
Magic,’’ ‘‘Nineteenth Century Occultism,’’ and other 
writings. She had also been active in the investigations 
conducted by the London ‘‘ Dialectical Society,’’ a few 
years previously. Another Spiritualist Founder was 
Mr. C. C. Massey, an English barrister and well-known 
writer for British spiritualist publications. On his re- 
turn to London after the formation of the Society, he 
interested a number of others, among them the famous 


18 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


W. Stainton Moses (‘‘M.A. Oxon.’’), and Miss Emily 
Kislingbury, at that time Secretary of the British Spir- 
itualist Association. The British Theosophical Society 
was established in 1876, with Mr. Massey as its first 
President. The members of the British Society were 
accepted as ‘‘Corresponding Fellows’’ of the Parent 
Society, but were not formally recognized until the sum- 
mer of 1878, when John Storer Cobb, the then Record- 
ing Secretary, journeyed to London for the purpose, un- 
der commission from the Parent Society. With the ex- 
ception of Miss Kislingbury nearly all the original and 
early London Fellows later became antagonistic. Both 
in London and New York nearly the entire membership 
consisted of Spiritualists. As phenomena were not forth- 
coming, as the teachings of Madame Blavatsky came to 
be recognized as fatal to the theory that mediumistic 
communications are messages from departed human be- 
ings, the great majority of Spiritualist members either 
silently dropped out or became the most active enemies 
of the new Society. 

Another early Fellow was Dr. Alexander Wilder, the 
learned Platonist, who remained friendly to the Society 
and its purposes throughout his life. It was he who 
read the manuscript of ‘‘Isis Unveiled’’ and recom- 
mended its publication to Mr. J. W. Bouton. He also 
wrote most of the prefatory article ‘‘Before the Veil,’’ 
which precedes Chapter I of Volume 1 of ‘‘Isis.’? In 
other ways, also, he was helpful to Madame Blavatsky 
and her mission, and his services were often gratefully 
referred to by her. Other early members were Rev. 
J. H. Wiggin, a Unitarian clergyman, Dr. Seth Pan- 
coast of Philadelphia, a lifetime student of the Kabbala, 
and Major-General Abner W. Doubleday, U. S. Army, 
retired. General Doubleday remained a consistent and 
devoted member of the Society to the day of his death. 
He became President pro tem. after the departure of 
Madame Blavatsky and Col. Olcott for India, and spent 
much of his time in correspondence and other activities 
in behalf of the Society. Some unique manuscripts and 
rare books given by him to the original library of the 


THE PARENT THEOSOPHICAL SOCIETY 19 


New York Society are in the possession of the writers. 
One of his last services was to present the Society with 
a complete file of the first six volumes of The Theosophist, 
completely indexed in manuscript prepared and written 
out by himself. 

Through the labors of Madame Blavatsky, Correspond- 
ing Fellows were obtained in many lands. In this way 
the Ionian Theosophical Society was established at Corfu 
in 1877. Other activities by correspondence resulted in 
an affiliation with the Arya Samaj, a Hindu association 
originally formed for the revival of interest in the an- 
cient scriptures and philosophical systems of India. It 
was presided over by the Swami, Dayanand Sarasvati, 
well known in his native country. Joint diplomas were 
issued to many Fellows of the T.S. as members of ‘‘The 
Theosophical Society of the Arya Samaj of Aryavart”’ 
(the ancient designation of India). This alliance en- 
dured until 1881, when it was ruptured and the Swami 
and his partisans became violent opponents to the T.S. 
in India. A very full account of the various difficulties 
is contained in the ‘‘Eixtra Supplement’’ to The The- 
osophist for July, 1882. 

As originally constituted the Theosophical Society was 
entirely democratic in its by-laws and organization. All 
Officers were elective. Changes in by-laws, whether by 
substitution or otherwise, had first to be submitted in 
writing at a stated meeting at least thirty days prior 
to a vote, and then ratified by the affirmative action of 
two-thirds of the Fellows present. All nominations for 
Fellowship were required to be in writing, to be endorsed 
by two Fellows in good standing, and approved by the 
Council. Three classes of Fellows were provided for: 
Active, Corresponding and Honorary, whose nature is 
sufficiently indicated by their designations. The earlier 
Societies established after the foundation of the Parent 
body adopted its preamble and made additional rules 
and by-laws not in conflict, to suit themselves. Inter- 
course between the various Societies was more or less 
desultory and informal, but all Fellows received their 
diplomas from the Parent Society until branch Societies 


20 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


began to be formed in India, when diplomas were signed 
by Col. Oleott and Madame Blavatsky. In America diplo- 
mas were signed after 1878 by Gen. Doubleday as Presi- 
dent pro tem., and by Mr. Judge as Recording Secretary, 
until 1883, after which date diplomas were signed in the 
first instance in India or America as exigency might 
require, until 1885, after which time H.P.B. being in Kiu- 
rope, Mr. Judge in America, and Col. Olcott in India, 
all regular diplomas were signed in the first instance by 
Col. Olcott as de facto President of all the Theosophical 
Societies. Diplomas, when issued, were recognized as 
valid certificates of Fellowship by all lodges wherever 
situated. 

No formal Convention of all the Societies was ever 
held during the existence of the Parent body, but in 
India a species of gathering or ‘‘ Anniversary Conven- 
tion’’ was held as early as 1880, and thereafter annually 
at the end of each year. These were attended by dele- 
gates from the Indian and Ceylon Lodges and by occa- 
sional visitors from Hurope and America. No Sections 
were organized during the first ten years of the Society’s 
history. 

The Parent Theosophical Society had three declared 
Objects, and these were formally adopted by all subse- 
quently formed Societies except a few of the Indian 
branches. Those Objects were: 

I. To form the nucleus of a Universal Brotherhood of 
Humanity, without distinction of race, creed, sex, caste, 
or color; 

II. The study of ancient and modern religions, philoso- 
phies and sciences, and the demonstration of the impor- 
tance of such study; and 

III. The investigation of the unexplained laws of Na- 
ture and the psychical powers latent in man. 

Assent to the First Object only was required of all 
Fellows, the remaining Objects being set forth as sub- 
sidiary and optional. Originally, and until as late as 
1885, a form of initiation, several times changed, was 
used for the induction of new members, and the pro- 
ceedings of the several Societies were quasi-private. 


THE PARENT THEOSOPHICAL SOCIETY 21 


In the beginning the Parent Society and the other The- 
osophical bodies had no literature of their own. The 
Kabbala, translations of Plato, Oriental philosophies and 
religions, the Spiritualist publications, the numerous 
writings of Christian mystics, and the existent Western 
works on magic, hypnotism, mesmerism and related sub- 
jects supplied the only material for study. 

Madame Blavatsky had begun the composition of ‘‘Isis 
Unveiled’’ in 1874, and this work she continued steadily, 
subject to the multifarious interruptions and activities 
occasioned by her increasing acquaintance and the labors 
incident to her work as Corresponding Secretary of the 
new Society. In order to be near at hand in the prepara- 
tion of ‘‘Isis’’ for the press, Col. Olcott and his sister, 
Mrs. Mitchell, took rooms in the same building with 
Madame Blavatsky’s apartment. Most of the proofs of 
‘‘Tsis’’ were read by him, and the arrangement of the 
text is his. Both Col. Olcott and H.P.B. were greatly 
hampered by the lack of works of reference, by attendant 
circumstances, and by special difficulties. English was 
a foreign tongue to H.P.B. and had never been acquired 
by her except in a colloquial sense in childhood. She 
was entirely unfamiliar with current literary usages or 
the exigencies of the printer’s art. On his side Col. 
Olcott had but the slightest acquaintance with many 
of the subjects treated; was totally ignorant of most 
of the languages ancient and modern necessarily re- 
ferred to, and the authors and authorities whose state- 
ments were quoted and discussed. The almost endless 
ramifications of theologies, philosophies and other writ- 
ings referred to were for the most part unknown to 
him, and in many cases no exact equivalents or corre- 
sponding terms existed in English to convey the desired 
meanings and interpretations. A further difficulty de- 
veloped in Madame Blavatsky’s having occasion to re- 
write large portions of the text, or to incorporate new 
matter in the proofs, even after the stereotype plates 
were cast. When the many obstacles are considered, it 
is remarkable that so few errors exist in the work as 
finally published by Mr. J. W. Bouton of New York in 


22 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


the early autumn of 1877. Two editions of ‘‘Isis’’ were 
immediately exhausted, and new editions followed from 
the original plates for many years. An edition of ‘‘Isis’’ 
was also issued many years later by Mrs. Tingley’s The- 
osophical organization from the original Bouton plates, 
with additional matter. Still another edition of ‘‘Isis’’ 
reset throughout has been published by the same organ- 
ization. An entirely new edition was also issued in Lon- 
don in 1907 by the Theosophical Publishing Society, 
affiliated with Mrs. Besant’s Theosophical organization. 

Some corrections of the more glaring errors in the 
original Bouton editions of ‘‘Isis’’? were made at various 
times by Madame Blavatsky, in The Theosophist, The 
Path and Lucifer, but the original plates, not being 
owned by her, could not be corrected. 

‘“Tsis Unveiled’’ having been completed and the Society 
in America being on as firm a footing as possible, active 
preparations began to carry its propaganda to other 
countries where beginnings had already been made. Ac- 
cordingly, a little over a year after the publication of 
‘‘Tsis,’? Madame Blavatsky and Col. Olcott sailed for 
India as a ‘‘committee’’ of the Society. A fortnight’s 
stay was made in London, arrangements were made at 
Paris for the immediate formation of ‘‘The Theosophi- 
cal Society of French Spiritists,’’ and the two Founders 
proceeded on their way, arriving at Bombay, India, Feb- 
ruary 16, 1879. 

Almost at once accessions to the Society began in India, 
both among English residents and Hindus. Learned 
members of the various sects and castes, pundits, pro- 
fessors of the various schools of Hindu philosophy, In- 
dian rulers, writers, lawyers, gave their adhesion to the 
Society. Among noted English Fellows in India were 
Major-General Morgan, British Army, retired, and his 
wife; Mr. A. O. Hume, late Secretary to the Government 
of India; and Mr. A. P. Sinnett, editor of the leading 
pro-Government organ, the Allahabad Pioneer. In Oc- 
tober of 1879 Madame Blavatsky began the publication 
of The Theosophst. The magazine soon attained a wide 


THE PARENT THEOSOPHICAL SOCIETY 23 


circulation not only in India, but in Europe and America 
as well. In 1881 Mr. Sinnett’s book, ‘‘The Occult 
World,’’ was published at London. It was subsequently 
republished in America, and passed through many edi- 
tions. It was followed in 1883 by ‘‘ Esoteric Buddhism,”’ 
which circulated as SaUORELVELY In India, ‘‘Hints on 
Esoteric Theosophy, No. 1,’’ was issued in 1882, and 
‘‘No. 2”? a year later. In 1881 Col. Olcott published his 
‘‘Buddhist Catechism,’’ a work which was later adopted 
as accurate by both the Northern and Southern wing's 
of the Buddhist faith, and which speedily passed through 
a score of editions and is still being published. In the 
period from 1879 to 1884 there were established in India 
and Ceylon an even hundred Theosophical Societies. 
For the first time in recorded history, some approach to 
fellowship in a common society with a common aim was 
brought about amongst members of sects and castes 
which from time immemorial had considered it a sin and 
a degradation to meet and mingle on equal terms. 

Correspondence with the Parent, the British and the 
French Societies, and with H.P.B., resulted in the forma- 
tion of several additional Societies in America and Eu- 
rope in the first decade of the Movement. Thus the ‘‘St. 
Thomas’’ Society in the Danish West Indies was formed 
in 1881, the ‘‘Post Nubila Lux’’ Society at The Hague, 
Holland, the ‘‘Odessa Group’’ in Russia in 1883, the 
‘‘Scottish’’? at Ayre, the ‘‘Germania’’ at Elberfeld, in 
1884. The Queensland Society in Australia was formed 
in 1881. In the United States the first Society estab- 
lished after the Parent body was the Rochester T.S., 
organized in July, 1882, by the efforts of Mrs. J. W. 
Cables. The first publication in America devoted to 
Theosophical subjects was The Occult Word, the first 
number of which was issued by Mrs. Cables in April, 
1884. The ‘‘Pioneer’’ T.S. was formed at St. Louis in 
the summer of 1883, and the ‘‘Gnostic’’ at Washington, 
D. C., in 1884. 

Madame Blavatsky’s first work was with the Spir- 
itualists. When her powerful voice was raised in their 


24 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


defense, when she demanded that their wonders should 
be investigated with an open mind, their claims examined 
impartially, she was hailed as a friend, as an ally, as a 
champion of the new dispensation. When it was noised 
about through the indiscreet but well-meant laudations 
of Col. Olcott that she was herself a medium par ez- 
cellence, she was acclaimed as a prophet. Her sowrées 
and her Society were crowded with the rush of seekers 
demanding a sign. But when she refused to produce the 
hoped-for marvels; when in her conversations and let- 
ters to the press she hinted at other and truer explana- 
tions of the phenomena than ‘‘communications from the 
dead’’; when she uttered veiled warnings regarding the 
dangers of mediumship, she was listened to with sur- 
prise, with incredulity, with suspicions. And when at 
last ‘‘Isis Unveiled’’ was issued, a fierce revulsion set 
in, increasing as the years went on. She was denounced 
by some Spiritualists as a traitor to the ‘‘cause,’’ and 
slandered by others as a mere cheating trickster, not 
even an honest medium. Nearly every Spiritualist who 
had entered the Society. departed from it, and she was 
generally regarded quite as much the foe of Spiritualism 
as of orthodox religion or materialistic science. It is 
of more than passing significance that in every case the 
chief enemies of H.P.B. and her teachings, both within 
and without the original Theosophical Society and the 
many organizations which still employ that name, have 
been persons who were Spiritualists, or whose natural 
tendencies have been in that direction. All the many at- 
tacks upon her name and fame throughout all the years 
can be traced back to their source either in Spiritualists 
or those addicted to mediumship and its practices. 
What, then, were her earliest expositions of Theosophy, 
which sufficed on the one hand to provide the material 
for the growth and study of the members of the The- 
osophical Society, and, on the other hand, drew upon 
her devoted head from the very first, a series of attacks 
which, gradually increasing in range and intensity, cul- 
minated in the tremendous explosions of 1884-5? No 
student of the Theosophical Movement can afford to 


THE PARENT THEOSOPHICAL SOCIETY 25 


neglect the most painstaking examination of ‘‘Isis Un- 
veiled.’’ To a summary of its most important contents 
We may now turn our attention profitably, the collateral 
and accompanying circumstances having been outlined. 


CHAPTER ITT 
“fIsIS UNVEILED’’ 


‘‘Tsts UNVEILED’’ is stated on its title page to be ‘‘a 
master-key to the mysteries of ancient and modern sci- 
ence and theology.’’ In the body of the work there are 
said to be seven of these keys to the mysteries of Nature 
and of Man, of which one only is given. The volumes 
are dedicated to ‘‘The Theosophical Society which was 
founded to study the subjects on which they treat.’’ 

By correlating the work to the Three Objects of the 
Society a clear light may be had on the method of treat- 
ment employed. Volume 1 has for its general subject 
‘‘Science,’’ and in that respect relates strictly to the 
Third Object. Volume 2 is entitled ‘‘Theology,’’ and re- 
lates to the Second Object. But as both science and 
theology relate to the great objects of human inquiry, 
the treatment is inter-woven and inter-blended through- 
out. As all inquiry presents two general poles, the ascer- 
tainment of facts and the consideration of their mean- 
ing and relations, so ‘‘Isis’’ takes up the acquisitions of 
modern scientific research and the theories and hy- 
potheses built up to account for ascertained physical phe- 
nomena; the revelations and claims of the various reli- 
gions, particularly the Christian, are examined, and their 
theologies (or theories to account for metaphysical phe- 
nomena) are analyzed. 

The work is necessarily addressed to the most open- 
minded of the race, and the method pursued is necessarily 
adapted to the limitations of those minds. It is not so 
much the introduction of new evidence that is attempted, 
as the partial presentation of an entirely new (to West- 
ern minds) hypothesis to explain the evidence that al- 
ready exists in the general fund of human experience. 

26 


“ISIS UNVEILED” ay 


In the course of the work it is demonstrated over and 
over again that the dogmas of the sects are not only 
mutually contradictory and destructive, but, as well, that 
sound philosophical principles, correct logic and the 
proved facts of modern science are in direct and over- 
whelming opposition to the claims and pretensions of 
theology. The same method of examination is also ap- 
plied to the ‘‘working hypotheses’’ of modern science, 
and the various theories are tested out by comparison, 
one with another, all with the facts of experience. It is 
conclusively established that, no more than theology, 
can the philosophy of modern science stand the light 
of searching investigation. The believer in theology or 
science is furthermore shown by masses of indisputable 
testimony that certain facts exist and always have ex- 
isted, which are in themselves absolutely destructive 
alike of the claims of orthodox religion and materialistic 
science; that these facts have been persistently over- 
looked, ignored or denied, both by the votaries of ‘‘re- 
vealed religion’’ and of modern ‘‘exact science’’; yet 
that these disregarded facts have at all times been uni- 
formly testified to by the noblest minds of the race no 
less than by the common belief of mankind. Side by 
side, therefore, with the introduction of the affirmative 
evidence of these facts is placed the testimony of the 
ages as to their bearing on the great subjects of religion, 
philosophy and science, and the inference is drawn that 
there has always existed, from the remotest times, a sys- 
tem whose teachings in regard to Nature and to Man are 
inclusive of all things and exclusive of nothing. This 
system Madame Blavatsky denominates the Hermetic 
philosophy, or Wisdom-Religion, and declares that her 
work and mission are a ‘‘plea for the recognition of the 
Wisdom-Religion as the only possible key to the Abso- 
lute in science and theology.’’ The work itself is the 
evidence that she uses the word ‘‘plea’’ in its strictly 
legal and forensic sense. ‘‘Isis’’ contains the testimony, 
the analysis of the evidence, the arguments, and the 
citations of principles, laws and precedents. The work 
is ‘‘submitted to public judgment’? upon its inherent 


28 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


reasonableness as to its conclusions, its verifiable ac- 
curacy as to the facts, and not upon any assumed 
authority. 

Turning ever and anon from the purely inductive 
method which characterizes the work generally, Madame 
Blavatsky submits some of the principal tenets of the 
Wisdom-Religion, which she names THxEosopHy, and 
shows that there is more than ample ground, from evi- 
dence accessible to the general student, to justify the 
statements she makes, that the Wisdom-Religion under- 
lies and antedates every religion, every philosophy, every 
system of thought, every science known to mankind, and 
that all these have in point of fact sprung from periodi- 
cal impartations of portions of the Secret Doctrines 
by its Adept custodians. | 

‘‘Tsis’’ is in no sense put forward by its writer as 
an inference, a revelation, or a speculation, although 
the burden of its mighty contents is necessarily largely 
assumed to prove that the existence of Adepts and a 
Wisdom-Religion is the unavoidable inference from the 
testimony; the prior missions and messages of great 
Adepts the indubitable source of the great religions and 
the common belief in gods, saviors and redeemers; their 
teachings regarding the ‘‘mysteries’’ the real fountain 
whence have been drawn the materials for the philosophi- 
cal and ethical treatises of the great writers of all times. 
She shows that everywhere, from the remotest antiquity, 
there are abundant indications that the arts and sciences 
as re-discovered in our times, were known and prac- 
ticed by the ‘‘wise men of old’’; furthermore, that much 
was ‘‘known’’ to the ancients concerning certain sciences 
and arts now ‘‘unknown’’ even to the most advanced 
science and scientists of our day. And although popu- 
lar religion, philosophy and science became in time pol- 
luted with purely human speculations and fancies, ‘‘Isis’’ 
shows that they all started originally as clear and un- 
adulterated streams from the mother source. What was 
originally a teaching depending on knowledge and in- 
spiration degenerated in time into mere dogmas and 
speculations; what was originally a Teacher of primeval 


“ISIS UNVEILED” 29 


truths became in time an object of veneration and wor- 
ship as a god or a divine incarnation. 

With these considerations in mind something may be 
grasped of the epochal importance of Madame Blavat- 
sky’s first great work, and of the leading statements of 
Occultism embodied in it. Although ‘‘Isis Unveiled’’ 
has been before the world for nearly half a century few, 
even among Theosophists, have as yet assimilated more 
than a few crumbs from this ‘‘storehouse of thought.’’ 

The plan of the work is early stated. The object is not 
to force upon the public the personal views or theories 
of the author, nor does it aim at creating a revolution 
in some department of thought: 


It is rather a brief summary of the religions, 
philosophies, and universal traditions of human 
kind, and the exegesis of the same, in the spirit 
of those secret doctrines, of which none—thanks 
to prejudice and bigotry—have reached Chris- 
tendom in so unmutilated a form as to secure it 
a fair judgment. Hence the unmerited contempt 
into which the study of the noblest of sciences— 
that of the spiritual man—has gradually fallen. 

In undertaking to inquire into the assumed 
infallibility of Modern Science and Theology, 
the author has been forced, even at the risk of 
being thought discursive, to make constant com- 
parison of the ideas, achievements, and preten- 
sions of their representatives with those of the 
ancient philosophies and religious teachers. 
Things the most widely separated as to time 
have thus been brought into immediate juxta- 
position, for only thus could the priority and 
parentage of discoveries and dogmas be deter- 
mined. In discussing the merits of our scien- 
tific contemporaries, their own confessions of 
failure in experimental research, of baffling mys- 
teries, of missing links in their chains of theory, 
of inability to comprehend natural phenomena, 
of ignorance of the laws of the causal world, 


30 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


have furnished the basis for the present study. 
Especially we will review the speculations and 
policy of noted authorities in connection with 
those modern psychological phenomena [Spir- 
itualism] which began at Rochester and have 
now overspread the world. We wish to show 
how inevitable were their innumerable failures, 
and how they must continue until these pre- 
tended authorities go to the Brahmins and 
Lamaists of the far Orient, and respectfully ask 
them to wmpart the alphabet of true science. 

Deeply sensible of the Titanic struggle that 
is now in progress between materialism and the 
spiritual aspirations of mankind, our constant 
endeavor has been to gather into our several 
chapters, like weapons into armories, every fact 
and argument that can be used to aid the latter 
in defeating the former. Sickly and deformed 
child as it now is, the materialism of Today is 
born of the brutal Yesterday. Unless its growth 
is arrested it may become our master. To pre- 
vent the crushing of these spiritual aspirations, 
the blighting of these hopes, and the deadening 
of that intuition which teaches us of a God anda 
hereafter, we must show our false theologies in 
their naked deformity, and distinguish between 
divine religion and human dogmas. Our voice 
is raised for spiritual freedom, and our plea 
made for enfranchisement from all tyranny, 
whether of Science or THEOLOGY. 


The work plunges forthwith into the comparison of 
the ancient Occult tenets both with modern theological 
dogmas and modern scientific theories. Some of the 
tenets laid down are as follows: 

I. The pre-existence of spiritual man clothed in a body 
of ethereal matter, and with the ability to commune 
freely with the now unseen universes. 

If. An almost incredible antiquity is claimed for the 
human race in its various ‘‘coats of skin,’’ and the great 


“ISIS UNVEILED” 31 


doctrine of Cycles of Destiny (Karma) is emphasized, 
as well as that these Cycles do not affect all mankind 
at one and the same time, thus explaining the rise and 
fall of civilizations and the existence at one and the same 
time of the most highly developed races side by side 
with tribes sunk in savagery. 

III. A double evolution, spiritual and intellectual as 
well as physical, is postulated whose philosophy alone 
can reconcile spirit and matter and cause each to demon- 
strate the other mathematically. 

IV. The doctrine of the Metempsychosis of the spir- 
itual and mental Man is given as the key which will 
supply every missing link in the theories of the modern 
evolutionists, as well as the mysteries of the various 
religions. The lower orders of evolution are declared 
to have emanated from higher spiritual ones before they 
develop. It is affirmed that if men of science and the- 
ologians had properly understood the doctrine of Me- 
tempsychosis in its application to the indestructibility 
of matter and the immortality of spirit it would have 
been perceived that this doctrine is a sublime conception. 
It is demonstrated that there has not been a philosopher 
of any note who did not hold to this doctrine of Metem- 
psychosis as taught by the Brahmins, Buddhists, and 
later by the Pythagoreans and the Gnosties, in its esoteric 
sense. For lack of comprehension of this great phil- 
osophical principle the methods of modern science, how- 
ever exact, must end im nullity. 

V. The ancients knew far more concerning certain 
sciences than our modern savants have yet discovered. 
Magic is as old as man. The calculations of the an- 
cients applied equally to the spiritual progress of hu- 
manity as to the physical. Magic was considered a di- 
vine science which led to a participation in the attributes 
of Divinity itself. ‘‘As above, so it is below. That 
which has been will return again. As in heaven, so on 
earth.’’ The revolution of the physical world is attended 
by a like revolution in the world of intellect—the spiritual 
evolution proceeding in Cycles, like the physical one. 
The great kingdoms and empires of the world after reach- 


32 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


ing the culmination of their greatness, descend again, in 
accordance with the same law by which they ascended; 
till, having reached the lowest point, humanity re-asserts 
itself and mounts up once more, the height of its attain- 
ment being, by this law of ascending progression by cy- 
cles, somewhat higher than the point from which it had 
before descended. 


VI. Too many of our thinkers do not consider 
that the numerous changes in language, the al- 
legorical phrases and evident secretiveness of 
old Mystic writers, who were generally under an 
obligation never to divulge the solemn secrets 
of the sanctuary, might have sadly misled trans- 
lators and commentators. One day they may 
learn to know better, and so become aware that 
the method of extreme necessarianism was prac- 
ticed in ancient as well as in modern philosophy ; 
that from the first ages of man, the fundamental 
truths of all that we are permitted to know on 
earth were in the safe keeping of the adepts of 
the sanctuary; that the difference in creeds and 
religious practice was only external; and that 
those guardians of the primitive divine revela- 
tion, who had solved every problem that is 
within the grasp of human intellect, were bound 
together by a unversal freemasonry of science 
and philosophy, which formed one wnbroken 
chain around the globe. 


The first chapter of Volume 1, from which we have 
extracted the several statements which we have here 
numbered for their better massing and comprehension, 
closes with a forecast, drawn from the study of the past: 


The moment is more opportune than ever for 
the review of old philosophies. Archaeologists, 
philologists, astronomers, chemists and physi- 
cists are getting nearer to the point where they 
will be forced to consider them. Physical sci- 


“ISIS UNVEILED” 33 


ence has already reached its limits of explora- 
tion; dogmatic theology sees the springs of its 
inspiration dry. Unless we mistake the signs, 
the day is approaching when the world will re- 
ceive the proofs that only ancient religions were 
in harmony with nature, and ancient science 
embraced all that can be known. Who knows the 
possibilities of the future? An era of disen- 
chantment and rebuilding will soon begin—nay, 
has already begun. The cycle has almost run its 
course; anew one is about to begin, and the fu- 
ture pages of history may contain full evidence, 
and convey full proof that 


‘‘Tf ancestry can be in aught believed, 

Descending spirits have conversed with 
man, 

And told him secrets of the world 
unknown.’’ 


If we turn now to the twelfth and last chapter of 
Volume 2 of ‘‘Isis,’’? we shall be confronted with an in- 
troductory paragraph, also prophetic at the time of its 
writing, now all too truly a matter of both theosophical 
and profane history. She there says: 


It would argue small discernment on our part 
were we to suppose that we have been followed 
thus far through this work by any but meta- 
physicians, or mystics of some sort. Were it 
otherwise, we should certainly advise such to 
spare themselves the trouble of reading this 
chapter; for, although nothing is said that is not 
strictly true, they would not fail to regard the 
least wonderful of the narratives as absolutely 
false, however substantiated. 


The chapter follows with a recapitulation of the princi- 
ples of natural law, covered by the fundamental proposi- 
tions of the Oriental philosophy as successively eluci- 


34 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


dated in the course of the work. She states them in 
numbered order as follows: 


I. There is no miracle. Everything that happens is 
the result of law—eternal, immutable, ever-active. This 
‘immutable law’’ is frequently referred to throughout 
the volumes under such terms as cycles, the ‘‘law of com- 
pensation,’’ Karma, ‘‘self-made destiny,’’ and so on. Its 
mode of operation is incessantly discussed in treating of 
the rise and fall of civilizations, successive races of 
men, earth transformations, the three-fold principle of 
evolution, Spiritual, Mental, and Physical; the com- 
pound nature of man and the universe; and in such 
terminology as pre-existence, metempsychosis, trans- 
migration, reincarnation, evolution, transformation, per- 
mutation, emanation, immortality, and after-death states 
and conditions. Constant effort is made to keep before 
the reader the unvarying principle that spiritual and 
mental evolution proceeds apace with physical mani- 
festations, and stands to physical evolution in the rela- 
tion of cause to effect. This is all summarized in the 
second proposition. 

II. Nature is triune: there is a visible, objective Na- 
ture; an invisible, indwelling, energizing Nature, the 
exact model of the other, and its vital principle; and, 
above these two, spirit, source of all forces, alone eternal 
and indestructible. The lower two constantly change; 
the higher third does not. This universal postulate is 
then applied specifically to human nature and evolu- 
tion in the third proposition. 

III. Man is also triune: he has his objective, physical 
body, his vitalizing astral body (or soul), the real man; 
and these two are brooded over and illuminated by the 
third—the sovereign, the immortal spirit. When the real 
man succeeds in merging himself with the latter, he be- 
comes an immortal entity. The argument throughout 
the two large volumes of ‘‘Isis’’ is always that such 
mergence or union is possible and is the underlying pur- 
pose of all evolution; that such beings as Jesus, Buddha 
and others had in fact arrived at this consummation, and 


“ISIS UNVEILED” 35 


that the real mission of the Founders of all religions is 
to point mankind to the purpose of Mental and Spiritual 
evolution, and give the directions and conditions prece- 
dent to the ‘‘perfectibility of man.’’ Such exalted be- 
ings are by H. P. Blavatsky variously called the sages, 
the Adepts, the Great Souls of all time. Their knowl- 
edge of Nature and of Nature’s laws is called in its en- 
tirety the Wisdom-Religion, and its practical exemplifi- 
cation is summarized in the fourth proposition. 

IV. and V. Magic, as a science, is the knowledge of 
these principles, and of the way by which the omniscience 
and omnipotence of the spirit and its control over Na- 
ture’s forces may be acquired by the individual while 
still in the body. Magic, as an art, is the application of 
this knowledge in practice. Granting that great powers 
exist in Nature, and that the conscious control over these 
powers may be attained by the incarnated being through 
metaphysical means, it follows that such control may 
be exercised beneficently or maleficently. Arcane knowl- 
edge misapplied is soreery, or ‘‘Black Magic’’; benefi- 
cently used, true Magic or Wispom. In either case it 
constitutes Adeptship, whether of the Raght- or the Left- 
hand Path. This is the fifth proposition, and the text 
of the two volumes contains almost numberless direct 
and indirect references to celebrated characters in his- 
tory, tradition and myth who exemplified the two char- 
acters of Adeptship. 

VI. This proposition sets forth that Mediumship is the 
opposite of Adeptship. Whereas the Adept actively con- 
trols himself and all inferior potencies, the Medium is 
the passive instrument of foreign influences. There is 
no more important practical theorem in the whole work. 
Many, many pages are devoted to discussion of the char- 
acteristics, tendencies, practices and fruits of medium- 
ship. Its phenomena, objective and subjective, are dealt 
with at length. Spiritualism, or mediumship, is shown 
to have been prevalent in all ages, no matter under 
what names known, and its recurrence, whether in indi- 
vidual cases or amongst masses of men, is shown to be 
subject to cyclic law, now more generally known to The- 


36 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 

osophical students under its Sanskrit designation of 
Karma. In Mediumship, as in Adeptship, it is shown 
that there are two polar antitheses, dependent on the 
moral character of the medium for the quality and range 
no less than the effects, good or bad, of its exercise. 


The remaining numbered propositions of the last chap- 
ter of Volume 2 will be considered in other connections 
later on,’ but their essential nature and implications are 
contained in the following sentences, without the basic 
apprehension of which no inquiry into Theosophy and 
the Theosophical Movement can be fruitful of under- 
standing, however it may afford information: 


To sum up all in a few words, Maaic is spir- 
itual Wispom; nature, the material ally, pupil 
and servant of the magician. One common vital 
principle pervades all things, and this is con- 
trollable by the perfected human will. The adept 
can stimulate the movements of the natural 
forces in plants and animals in a preternatural 
degree. Such experiments are not obstructions 
of nature, but quickenings; the conditions of in- 
tenser vital action are given. 

The adept can control the sensations and alter 
the conditions of the physical and astral bodies 
of other persons not adepts; he can also govern 
and employ, as he chooses, the spirits of the ele- 
ments. He cannot control the immortal spirit 
of any human being, living or dead, for all such 
spirits are alike sparks of the Divine Essence, 
and not subject to any foreign domination. 


The restrictions with which the information conveyed 
in ‘‘Isis’’? is hedged about, both from the standpoint 
of the teacher endeavoring to impart and the inquirer 
endeavoring to learn, and the dangers, known or un- 
known to the latter, are indicated towards the close of 
the chapter: 


*See Chapter XXXTIT. 


“ISIS UNVEILED” 


By those who have followed us thus far, it 
will naturally be asked, to what practical issue 
this book tends; much has been said about magic 
and its potentiality, much of the immense an- 
tiquity of its practice. Do we wish to affirm that 
the occult sciences ought to be studied and prac- 
ticed throughout the world? Would we replace 
modern spiritualism with the ancient magic? 
Neither; the substitution could not be made, nor 
the study universally prosecuted, without incur- 
ring the risk of enormous public dangers. 

We would have neither scientists, theologians 
nor spiritualists turn practical magicians, but 
all to realize that there was true science, pro- 
found religion, and genuine phenomena before 
this modern era. We would that all who have a 
voice in the education of the masses should first 
know and then teach that the safest guides to 
human happiness and enlightenment are those 
writings which have descended to us from the re- 
motest antiquity; and that nobler spiritual as- 
pirations and a higher average morality prevail 
in the countries where the people have taken 
their precepts as the rule of their lives. We 
would have all to realize that magical, 2.e., spir- 
itual powers exist in every man, and those few 
to practice them who feel called to teach, and are 
ready to pay the price of discipline and self-con- 
quest which their development exacts. 

Many men have arisen who had glimpses of 
the truth, and fancied they had it all. Such have 
failed to achieve the good they might have done 
and sought to do, because vanity has made them 
thrust their personality into such undue promi- 
nence as to interpose it between their believers 
and the whole truth that lay behind. The world 
needs no sectarian church, whether of Buddha, 
Jesus, Mahomet, Swedenborg, Calvin, or any 
other. There being but One Truth, man re- 
quires but one church—the Temple of God within 


37 


38 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


us, walled in by matter but penetrable by any one 
who can find the way; the pure in heart see God. 
The trinity of nature is the lock of magic; the 
trinity of man the key that fits it. Within the 
solemn precincts of the sanctuary the SupreME 
had and has no name. It is unthinkable and un- 
pronounceable; and yet every man finds in him- 
self his god. 

Besides, there are many good reasons why the 
study of magic, except in its broad philosophy, is 
nearly impracticable in Europe and America. 
Magic being what it is, the most difficult of all 
sciences to learn experimentally—its acquisi- 
tion is, practically, beyond the reach of the ma- 
jority of white-skinned people; and that, whether 
their effort is made at home or in the Kast. 
Probably not more than one man in a million of 
European blood is fitted—either physically, 
morally, or psychologically—to become a practi- 
eal magician, and not one in ten millions would 
be found endowed with all these three qualifica- 
tions as required for the work. Unlike other 
sciences, a theoretical knowledge of formulae 
without mental capacities or soul powers, is ut- 
terly useless in magic. The spirit must hold in 
complete subjection the combativeness of what 
is loosely termed educated reason, until facts 
have vanquished cold human sophistry. 


The concluding pages of ‘‘Isis’’ recite that those best 
prepared to appreciate Occultism are the Spiritualists, 
although, through prejudice, they have hitherto been 
the bitterest opponents to its introduction to public no- 
tice. She sums up thus: 


Despite all foolish negations and denuncia- 
tions their phenomena are real. Despite, also, 
their own assertions they are wholly misunder- 
stood by themselves. The totally insufficient the- 
ory of the constant agency of disembodied hu- 


“ISIS UNVEILED” 39 


man spirits in their production has been the bane 
of the Cause. A thousand mortifying rebuffs 
have failed to open their reason or intuition to 
the truth. Ignoring the teachings of the past, 
they have discovered no substitute. We offer 
them philosophical deduction instead of unveri- 
fiable hypothesis, scientific analysis and demon- 
stration instead of undiscriminating faith. Oc- 
cult philosophy gives them the means of meet- 
ing the reasonable requirements of science, and 
frees them from the humiliating necessity to ac- 
cept the oracular teachings of ‘‘intelligences,”’ 
which as a rule have less intelligence than a 
child at school. So based and so strengthened, 
modern phenomena would be in a position to 
command the attention and enforce the respect 
of those who carry with them public opinion. 
Without invoking such help, spiritualism must 
continue to vegetate, equally repulsed—not 
without cause—both by scientists and theolo- 
gians. In its modern aspect it is neither a sci 
ence, a religion, nor a philosophy. 


With this outline of the teaching of Occultism as con- 
tained in ‘‘Isis Unveiled’’; its overwhelming arraign- 
ment out of the mouths of their own exponents, of the 
religion, science and philosophy of the day; its outspoken 
treatment of dogmatic Christianity, of materialistic 
hypotheses, of the phenomena and theories of Spiritual- 
ism, the student can begin to comprehend the enormous 
difficulties faced by H.P.B. in gaining a foothold for the 
Theosophical Society and a hearing for her teachings 
of Theosophy. Her task was not that of a teacher in 
a kindergarten: to meet and lead plastic and unsullied 
minds eager with interest, unburdened with preconcep- 
tions, into new and delightful paths of occupation and 
learning. Far from it. Rather it was that of the alien- 
ist in a mad world, its unsane inhabitants soaked 
through and through with their several illusions, each 
profoundly certain of the truth of his own particular 


40 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


mania, profoundly convinced of the hallucination of all 
others; each looking at the phenomena of life through 
the distorted lenses of fundamental misconceptions. Re- 
gardless of names and forms, she had to reckon with the 
fact, from the standpoint of the teachings of Occult- 
ism, that everywhere, the men of the Western world 
were fast fixed in false beliefs, taking that to be the 
Eternal which is not eternal; that to be Soul which is not 
soul; that to be Pure which is impure; that to be Good 
which is evil. She had to destroy while seeming to create, 
to create while seeming to destroy. 

Looking back from the present basis of tolerated if not 
accepted ideas, it is only by the contrast that the supreme 
miracle of her wisdom can be even faintly sensed. The 
identity of man with the Supreme Spirit; the doctrine of 
Cycles, the law of Compensation; Spiritual and Intellect- 
ual as well as physical evolution; inherent immortality, 
metempsychosis; the Spiritual Brotherhood of all beings, 
Adepts as the culmination of the triple evolutionary 
scheme in Nature; Spirit and Matter as the eternal dual 
presentment of evolving Consciousness, the polar aspects 
of the One Hssence—all these great and supreme ideas 
she and none other restored to a vital place in human 
thought. The words existed—mummified forms from the 
by-gone Past, wrapped in the thousand cerements of the 
sects. As in the Talmudic legend, she breathed upon the 
clay, breathed into it the breath of life. Or, better, as 
in the story of Joseph, she made the dead come forth 
from the tomb, clothed in the habiliments in which the 
living dead had buried him against a far-off impossible 
resurrection. 

Much has been written by Theosophists—those who 
owe their all to her and her work—that the H.P.B. of 
1875 was not the H.P.B. of later days; that she, lke 
themselves, was but a student, stumbling, halting, grop- 
ing, finding her way through failures and mistakes; that 
it was only in later years that she came to learn of this, 
of that, of reincarnation among other matters; that many 
contradictions will be found in ‘‘Isis’’ when compared 
with her final teachings. 


“ISIS UNVEILED” 41 


The inquirer into facts and philosophies has but to 
read ‘‘Isis,’’ to annotate its teachings, to compare them 
with all her subsequent multifarious writings to see and 
know for himself that the teachings of ‘‘Isis’’ are her 
unchanging teachings; that not in jot or in tittle is there 
a contradiction or a disagreement in all she ever wrote; 
that in ‘‘Isis’’ are the foundational statements of Oc- 
cultism. All her later writings are but extensions, rami- 
fications, the orderly development and unfolding of what 
is both explicit and implicit in ‘‘Isis Unveiled.’’ Study 
and comparison will do more: it will give the student a 
solid and impregnable standard from which to survey 
the real nature and character of the Avatar of the nine- 
teenth century; a criterion by which, as well, truly to 
measure the understanding, the nature and the develop- 
ment of those disciples, students and followers of H.P.B. 
of whom she might well have repeated in the words of 
Blake on ‘‘certain friends’’: 


I found them blind; I taught them how to see; 
And now they neither know themselves nor me. 


The facts being ascertained, and some faint perception 
of their significance being grasped, the student needs no 
interpreter to tell him that obstacles, opposition, mis- 
understanding, contumely, hatred and misrepresentation 
were unavoidable concomitants of every step in the prog- 
ress of the Theosophical Society, no less than in the path 
of her whose mission it was to be its ‘‘presiding deity.’’ 
The chief of these difficulties have now to be considered. 


CHAPTER IV 
EARLY DAYS OF THE THEOSOPHICAL SOCIETY 


Art first glance the Objects of the Theosophical Society 
might be assumed to be in themselves so manifestly bene- 
ficial and, negatively speaking, so entirely harmless as 
at once to commend them to the good-will if not to the 
active support of all men everywhere. To draw this con- 
clusion, however, is unfortunately to be blind to the les- 
sons of human history; is to be ignorant of the forces 
which dominate the operations of human consciousness. 

Selfishness, in one or another of its countless forms, is 
and at all times has been the prevailing keynote of hu- 
man action. Many have been the attempts to form en- 
during associations having for their prime object the 
realization of an actual nucleus of universal brotherhood 
among men. To unite firmly a body of men in brotherly 
love bent on pure altruistic work has been the dream of 
many high-souled men and women. Whatever of prog- 
ress and amelioration has been achieved for the race 
from time to time has been due to such efforts. But in 
their durable purpose they have all failed of the great 
object, and humanity is today waiting as vainly as ever 
for the accomplishment of the most holy and most im- 
portant mission that has ever commanded the devotion 
of the savior, the philanthropist and the martyr. Dis- 
ruptive pressures from without, disintegrating forces 
from within, have in the end made mock and havoc of 
every attempt to embody practically what all men rever- 
ence as the noblest of ideals. Yet the ideal persists, 
though its successive incarnations wither and decay. 

It cannot, then, be supposed that H. P. Blavatsky was 
in ignorance or misconception of the gigantic task she 
set for herself in the endeavor to create among men a 
Society which should have for its primary purpose the 

42 


EARLY DAYS 43 


formation of a nucleus of actual Brotherhood. Nor is 
it to be imagined that she was indifferent to or unac- 
quainted with the causes of all former failures in that 
direction. The Second and Third Objects of the Society 
have their real foundation in her understanding of the 
causes of all failures among men to achieve their heart’s 
ideal. So long as men find occasion for frictions and 
antagonisms, rather than grounds for union and harmony, 
in what they believe and practice in the name of religion, 
so long will they be fundamentally at variance. So long 
as their ideas of knowledge—of true science—are con- 
fined to mere bodily existence, so long will all attempts at 
brotherhood degenerate into sordid search for material 
well-being, for physical and intellectual progress and de- 
velopment only. Faith and knowledge, instead of being 
natural allies, will pursue opposed courses, religion and 
science take mutually destructive paths, the ideal and 
the practical seem to be separated by an impassable gulf. 

All these thing's are clearly, if succinctly, indicated in 
the Preface to the first volume of ‘‘Isis Unveiled.’’ 
Never in all her vast outpour of teaching and practical 
example did Madame Blavatsky place on record anything 
of more enduring and far-reaching worth than the propo- 
sitions and implications of this Preface. After dedicat- 
ing ‘‘these volumes to the Theosophical Society, which 
was formed in New York, A. D. 1875, to study the subjects 
on which they treat,’’ her first words are an affirmation 
of the existence of Masters, of the Wisdom-Religion, of 
her own intimate acquaintance with Them and with 
Their philosophy: 


The work now submitted to public judgment 
is the fruit of a somewhat intimate acquaintance 
with Eastern adepts and study of their science. 


Here is implied the existence of an actual Brotherhood 
of living men, of perfected human beings who have be- 
come such through self-induced and self-devised exer- 
tions; herein is affirmed the perfectibility of man, the pos- 
sibility of a fraternity of peace and good-will through 


44, THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


the means and the example afforded by acquaintance with 
and study of these Adepts and their science. Centuries 
of sectarian theological teachings that man is a poor mis- 
erable sinner, inherently imperfect and never by any pos- 
sibility to become perfect save through an act of faith in 
a vicarious Saviour; centuries of materialism in thought 
and action on a one-life basis—over against these deeply 
imbedded and dominating ideas is set, sheer and clear, 
the fact of Masters; not as some far-off, remote abstrac- 
tion, some longed-for but impossible ideal, some unique 
and special creation of a favoring God, but veritable Di- 
vine Beings who have reached physical and mental, no 
less than moral and spiritual, perfection under Law. 
Here is the tremendous assurance that the realization of 
Brotherhood is not an impossibility to any man who will 
follow the path They show, by creating in and of himself 
the conditions precedent to the acquisition of Their 
knowledge and nature. 

What those conditions precedent are is indicated in 
the succeeding sentences: 


It is offered to such as are willing to accept 
truth wherever it may be found, and to defend 
it, even looking popular prejudice straight in the 
face. It is an attempt to aid the student to 
detect the vital principles which underlie the 
philosophical systems of old. 


All men are willing to accept truth, but each is predis- 
posed to determine for himself the terms and conditions 
upon which he will base his acceptance. Hach man holds, 
consciously or unconsciously to himself, certain funda- 
mental ideas as to Deity, Nature and Man. He will, by 
consequence, accept only so much of truth as may con- 
form to those ideas, modifying or rejecting all else. As 
those fundamental conceptions proceed from human ig- 
norance and partialities, the true vital principles which 
underlie the race-old systems of thought must be detected. 
That cannot be for any man so long as he clings to forms 
of religion and philosophy which separate instead of 


EARLY DAYS 45 


unite mankind in the bonds of true fraternity. The Sec- 
ond Object, the study for comparative purposes of the 
various religions and philosophies, will lead to the per- 
ception of the common vital principles upon which all 
faiths are founded. In this comparative study the 
searcher for truth must emulate the plan and purpose of 
‘“Tsis,’’ which is written ‘‘in all sincerity. It is meant 
to do even justice, and to speak the truth alike without 
malice or prejudice. But it shows neither mercy for 
enthroned error, nor reverence for usurped authority. 
Toward no form of worship, no religious faith, no scien- 
tific hypothesis has its criticism been directed in any 
other spirit. Men and parties, sects and schools are but 
the mere ephemera of the world’s day. Trutu, high- 
seated upon its rock of adamant, is alone eternal and su- 
preme.’’ Unless the inquirer adopts and maintains the 
spirit of ‘‘Isis,’? he cannot rid himself of prejudice, of 
preconception, of bias and self-interest—the real bar- 
riers to knowledge and to Brotherhood. 

The Third Object runs current with the following 
clauses of the noble Preface: 


We believe in no Magic which transcends the 
scope and capacity of the human mind, nor in 
‘‘miracle,’’? whether divine or diabolical, if such 
imply a transgression of the laws of nature in- 
stituted from all eternity. Nevertheless, we ac- 
cept the saying of the gifted author of ‘‘Festus,’’ 
that the human heart has not yet fully uttered it- 
self, and that we have never attained or even un- 
derstood the extent of its powers. Is it too much 
to believe that man should be developing new 
sensibilities and a closer relation with nature? 
The logic of evolution must teach as much, if 
carried to its legitimate conclusions. If, some- 
where, in the line of ascent from vegetable or 
ascidian to the noblest man a soul was evolved, 
gifted with intellectual qualities, it cannot be un- 
reasonable to believe and infer that a faculty 
of perception is also growing in man, enabling 


A6 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


him to descry facts and truths even beyond our 
ordinary ken. 


He who would pass behind the ‘‘veil of Isis,’’ and learn 
to fathom the mysteries of Nature and of Man, must 
boldly take his stand in advance of the science of our 
times and proceed to the study of the unexplained laws 
of Nature and the psychical powers latent in man. The 
quoted sentences postulate the omnipresent existence of 
immutable Law; do away with the idea of miraculous in- 
tervention in human or mundane affairs; affirm the in- 
herent capacity of the mind of man for such development 
of its faculties as shall enable him to penetrate the arcana 
of being’; to understand, and understanding, control the 
phenomena of Nature and of his own consciousness, 
without which true Brotherhood must forever remain a 
longed-for but inaccessible Utopia. 

The Second and Third Objects thus constitute the ways 
and means by which alone the great First Object may be 
consummated. Viewed from the standpoint of religions 
which teach that enduring happiness is possible only be- 
yond the grave, or from that of a science which inculeates 
that earthly existence and earthly knowledge are all that 
are accessible to man, all the Objects of the Theosophical 
Society are alike futile, because impossible of attainment. 
Considered from the basis of the ordinary man those 
Objects are equally useless or unsatisfactory, because 
they all imply and require the giving up of objects and 
possessions counted valuable; at best in exchange for 
something remote and intangible, yielding no personal or 
selfish benefit; at worst the loss of what one holds dear 
without any return but failure. 

Here, then, the Preface predicates the true and endur- 
ing foundation for the seeker’s faith and efforts. The 
philosophy of the Adepts is given: 


They showed us that by combining science 
with religion, the existence of God and immor- 
tality of man’s spirit may be demonstrated like 
a problem of Euclid. For the first time we re- 


EARLY DAYS AT 


ceived the assurance that the Oriental phi- 
losophy has room for no other faith than an abso- 
lute and immovable faith in the omnipotence of 
man’s own immortal self. We were taught that 
this omnipotence comes from the kinship of 
man’s spirit with the Universal Soul—God! 
The latter, they said, can never be demonstrated 
but by the former. Man-spirit proves God- 
spirit, as the one drop of water proves a source 
from whence it must have come. Ex nihilo mhil 
fit; prove the soul of man by its wondrous pow- 
ers—you have proved God! 


Every attempt to establish a religion on the funda- 
mental conception that man is inherently fallible and sin- 
ful, every attempt to understand Nature on the theory 
that man is inherently mortal and finite, must end in 
failure. But once the stand is taken that there is an im- 
mortal self in man, its limitless potentialities for knowl- 
edge and power (true religion and true science) follow; 
the Three Objects of H. P. Blavatsky seem no longer a 
vain attempt at hitching of the earthly wagon to the 
firmamental lights; a nucleus of Universal Brotherhood 
becomes the one thing to be striven for, because seen to 
be eternally possible and eternally desirable; the im- 
mortal is substituted for the mortal as basis and as struc- 
ture, as object and as subject. 

The fact of Adepts grasped, the fact of the Wisdom- 
Religion recognized, he only is in any real sense a Fel- 
low of the real Theosophical Society who sets out to 
perform the work of clearance standing in the way of 
his own realization of both. By the study of the Wisdom- 
Religion of these Elder Brothers says H.P.B., ‘‘science, 
theology, every human hypothesis and conception born 
of imperfect knowledge, lost forever their authoritative 
character’’ in her sight. The same result must take place 
in the student, else the Second and Third Objects of the 
Society have been misconstrued in their purpose, will fail 
of their mission with him, and the First Object be as far 
off as ever from realization by him. Unless this position 


48 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


is assumed it will remain hidden from him, as she says 
it always has been hidden, ‘‘from those who overlooked 
it, derided it, or denied its existence.’’ Encouragement 
is offered to prosecute the search and the effort, and the 
explanation made of her mission at this time in the words, 
‘‘the day of domineering over men with dogmas has 
reached its gloaming. The drift of modern thought is 
palpably in the direction of liberalism in religion as well 
as in science. Hach day brings the reactionists nearer 
to the point where they must surrender the despotic au- 
thority over the public conscience, which they have so 
long exercised and enjoyed.’’ 

Nevertheless, she well realized that all the forces of 
reaction, within as well as without the Society, would 
fight to the death against the hearing and the spread of 
the ideas she came to impart. So she says, prephetic at 
the time, facts of history now: 


To show that we do not at all conceal from 
ourselves the gravity of our undertaking, we 
may say in advance that it would not be strange 
if the following classes should array themselves 
against us: 

The Christians, who will see that we question 
the evidences of the genuineness of their faith. 

The scientists, who will find their pretensions 
placed in the same bundle with those of the 
Roman Catholic Church for infallibility, and, 
in certain particulars, the sages and philos- 
ophers of the ancient world classed higher than 
they. 

Pseudo-scientists will, of course, denounce us 
furiously. 

Broad Churchmen and Freethinkers will find 
that we do not accept what they do, but demand 
recognition of the whole truth. 

Men of letters and various authorities, who 
hide their real belief in deference to popular 
prejudices. 

The mercenaries and parasites of the Press, 


EARLY DAYS 49 


who prostitute its more than royal power, and 
dishonor a noble profession, will find it easy to 
mock at things too wonderful for them to under- 
stand; for to them the price of a paragraph is 
more than the value of sincerity. From many 
will come honest criticism; from many—cant. 
But we look to the future. We repeat again— 
we are laboring for the brighter morrow. 


Once a clear apprehension is gained of what is actually 
implied in the Three Objects of the Theosophical Society, 
and of what is involved in the attempt to apply them, 
the student will have no difficulty in determining how 
absolutely dependent the Society was for its life and 
sustenance on the teachings imparted by H. P. Blavat- 
sky, if it were not to fail utterly as a vehicle of Brother- 
hood, whatever other success it might incidentally 
achieve. The same understanding will make plain that 
external and internal difficulties were inseparable from 
its every effort toward even a measurable and partial 
realization of those objects. 

The effect upon the Spiritualists has already been 
foreshadowed in a general way. Convinced as they were 
of the reality of metaphysical phenomena; multitudinous, 
conflicting and oftentimes grotesque as were the theories 
formulated or accepted to account for them, the ‘‘forces 
of reaction,’’ that is to say, of pre-conception and bias, 
had already ascribed all these phenomena to the agency 
of ‘‘disembodied human spirits.’’ When, then, philo- 
sophical principles and logical deductions, as well as the 
uninterrupted line of teaching of all the sages of the past, 
were applied to the manifestations, and it was pointed 
out that they could not proceed from the rational moral 
elements of once-living men, the Spiritualists almost 
without exception rose in arms. They were all ‘‘looking 
for truth,’’ but not in that direction. 

One may soberly ask himself, after a careful study of 
‘‘TIsis Unveiled’’: What is there in that work but the con- 
scientious, painstaking and stupendous presentation of 
facts, principles, arguments and analogies to explain con- 


50 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


sistently and irrefutably the source and rationale of the 
phenomena called Spiritualistic? What is there to arouse 
the opposition, the anger, the malevolence of anyone, 
let alone one seeking truth ‘‘ wherever it may be found”’’ 
in regard to mysterious and ill-explained happenings— 
happenings so recently brought to the attention of man- 
kind in the mass that the three parts of that mankind re- 
ject as absurd and incredible the events themselves? 
Here is a metaphysical phenomenon worthy of the utmost 
consideration: the rejection of evidence and testimony 
from verifiable living sources in favor of the blind ac- 
ceptance of unverifiable theories, speculations and ‘‘com- 
munications’’ at variance with the whole order of Nature 
and the whole history of human experience. Madame 
Blavatsky was assailed and pursued by Spiritualists with 
a persistency of misrepresentation equaled only by that 
of the religionists and pseudo-scientists of the day. 
Surely, if they had approached the séance room and the 
medium in the same spirit that H.P.B.’s communica- 
tions were received, they would, according to their own 
unvarying experience, have received nothing at all; yet 
what she had to say, when contrasted with the best that 
has ever been recorded from any ‘‘spirit,’’ was a thou- 
sand times more logical, more consistent, more philo- 
sophical, more explanatory and more easily verifiable. 

In the earlier years of the Society in the West the bulk 
of the opposition to its teachings came from the Spiritu- 
alists. The teachings of H.P.B. were as yet so alien 
to rooted inherited ideas in religion and science that her 
Society attracted but little attention except among the 
Spiritualists and hence the weight of the opposition came 
from the same quarter. 

In India, where the conditions were altogether differ- 
ent, the obstacles arose from another source. There, in 
spite of the rigid sects and castes, the religious faith and 
philosophy of the people (apart from the Mohammedan 
element of the population), was deeply akin to the mes- 
sage the Founders had to bring. For they but brought 
back to their source the ancient teachings, stripped of 
their outward, human garments, the accretions of the mil- 


EARLY DAYS 51 


lenniums of interpreters and priests. What they had to 
say appealed alike to Brahmin, Buddhist, Jain and Parsi, 
once the barriers of creedal exclusiveness were passed. 
In the earlier and precarious days the alliance hitherto 
formed by correspondence with the Swami, Dayanand 
Saraswati, and his Arya Samaj, was of the utmost as- 
sistance in this respect. A visit was made to Ceylon and 
there the Buddhist high priest, Sumangala, a noble and 
enlightened man, received H.P.B. as a fellow devotee 
of the great founder of the Buddhist faith. He admitted 
Col. Olcott to membership in the Buddhist congregation 
and was at pains to favor their mission. A couple of 
years later Col. Oleott’s ‘‘ Buddhist Catechism”’ aided in 
producing a veritable revival of Buddhism and gained 
for him and his Society the enduring friendship, not only 
of enlightened Buddhists, but of the other faiths of the 
ancient Hast. Almost immediately after their arrival 
Col. Oleott began lecturing throughout India, and his 
clear expositions, his great tact, his intuitive understand- 
ing of and sympathy with the Oriental mind made the 
establishment of branches phenomenally successful. 

Damodar K. Mavalankar, a native Brahmin youth 
of high caste, met H.P.B. and recognizing in her his 
Guru, forsook family, fortune and all worldly prospects 
to become her devoted follower, pupil and servant. The 
Theosoplist was founded by H.P.B. within less than a 
year after the arrival in India. Contributions were in- 
vited and obtained from Hindu writers of ability and 
repute on the various subjects afforded by Eastern phil- 
osophy and religion, and these, with H.P.B.’s own ar- 
ticles, soon made of the magazine a forum which at- 
tracted attention far and wide. Shortly after the estab- 
lishment of The Theosophist, H.P.B. made the acquaint- 
ance of T. Subba Row, an orthodox Brahmin, a lawyer, 
a man of ability, immense erudition and great influence. 
His friendship and attachment to the Society paved the 
way for many accessions. His contributions to the 
pages of The Theosophist were models of literary and 
philosophic excellence. 

These activities quickly drew the notice and aroused 


52 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


the ire of the missionaries of the various Christian sects 
established in India. Almost immediately rumors began 
to circulate that H.P.B. and Col. Olcott were disrepu- 
table characters, practically forced into exile from their 
own land. A sinister purpose was alleged to be behind 
their Society, and that purpose the overthrow of British 
rule in India. H.P.B. was said to be an immoral woman, 
a Russian spy, and Col. Olcott her dupe and her abettor. 
Nothing could have been better calculated to prejudice 
their mission, and nothing could have been more difficult 
to counteract and disprove. The Government set a watch 
upon their every movement and for months the spies of 
the secret service dogged their every step. In the end, 
however, nothing of an objectionable nature was discov- 
ered, and Col. Olcott was able to submit to the central 
authorities indubitable documentary proof of the ante- 
cedent good character and repute of himself and his col- 
league. Fortunately, also, within the first year, the 
Founders met Mr. A. P. Sinnett, editor of the Allahabad 
Pioneer, a strong pro-Government organ, and Mr. Allan 
O. Hume, late Secretary to the Government. Both of 
these gentlemen had been interested in spiritualistic 
manifestations, and learning something of the nature of 
H.P.B. and the scope of her teachings, became members 
of the Society and active in its behalf. They busied 
themselves in removing all misconceptions as to the 
nature and purpose of the Theosophical Society, the 
authorities became friendly, and the reaction speedily 
brought the Society to the favorable attention of many 
well-known English residents. 

Other stories were circulated that H.P.B. and Col. 
Olcott were ‘‘godless,’’ atheists as well as ‘‘infidels,’’ and 
their purpose equally to destroy the Hindu religions as 
well as the Christian and make of India a land of ma- 
terialism. The pages of The Theosophist as well as its 
‘*Supplements’’ during the earlier years show how un- 
brokenly and in what varied fashion the opposition to 
the Society and its teachings continued. One device 
was the importation of the Rev. Joseph Cook, then a 
widely known American clergyman and lecturer, who 


EARLY DAYS 53 


came to India ostensibly on a tour, but whose lectures 
were almost uniformly devoted to such misrepresenta- 
tions of Theosophy, the Society and its Founders as 
would have done honor to a hired mercenary. He was 
repeatedly challenged to meet the Theosophists in debate, 
but always avoided any such direct issue. Finally, he was 
publicly denounced in a signed card published by a Brit- 
ish army officer, and thereafter speedily departed the 
country. A similar stratagem was employed in the case 
of the Rev. Moncure D. Conway, who, while in India, 
visited the headquarters and was cordially received there 
by H.P.B. He afterwards published articles in leading 
magazines of America and England in disparagement of 
Theosophy and the work of the Society and declared that 
H.P.B. had admitted to him in his interview with her 
that her phenomena were all ‘‘glamour,’’ hence fraudu- 
lent. Once or twice, in unguarded moments, the assail- 
ants of the Theosophists laid themselves open to pro- 
ceedings which enforced public retractions, but in gen- 
eral the assaults were too cunningly made to permit of 
redress or rebuttal. So much for the general course of 
antagonism to the Society’s progress. 

The first serious ripple within the Society occurred 
when Dr. George Wyld, President of the London Lodge, 
resigned his Fellowship and became extremely antago- 
nistic. Dr. Wyld was a well-known and highly educated 
man, a Christian and a Spiritualist. When he came to. 
learn that the teachings of H.P.B. were opposed to the 
theories of ‘‘spirit communion,’’ and to all ideas savor- 
ing of a ‘‘ personal God,’’ he attacked her, her ‘‘ Masters’’ 
and her Theosophy with equal violence. 

Dr. Anna Bonus Kingsford then became President of 
the British Society. Though she remained friendly to 
H.P.B. and sympathetic toward the general Objects of 
the Theosophical Society throughout her life, Dr. Kings- 
ford had very pronounced ideas of her own. These are 
embodied in her work, ‘‘The Perfect Way, or the Finding 
of Christ,’’ originally delivered as a series of lectures 
before a private audience during the summer of 1881, 
and published in book form in 1882. <A ‘‘psychic’’ and 


54 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


strongly colored with Christian mysticism, it appeared to 
Mrs. Kingsford that the Society was devoting too much 
attention to purely oriental teachings, which she consid- 
ered to be more or less anti-Christian and tainted with 
a materialistic bias. Together with Mr. I. Maitland (as- 
sociated then as thereafter with her in her teachings), 
Dr. Kingsford issued in 1883 a pamphlet ‘‘ Letter to the 
Fellows of the London Lodge,’’ containing a severe ar- 
raignment of some of the statements embodied in Mr. 
Sinnett’s ‘‘Hsoteric Buddhism.’’ A good deal of more 
or less acrimonious discussion followed and finally, very 
early in 1884, T. Subba Row published, with the ap- 
proval of Madame Blavatsky, a pamphlet for private 
circulation among the Fellows. This pamphlet contained 
some ‘‘Observations’’ on the various questions raised and 
in it Subba Row discussed the general teachings outlined 
in ‘‘Hisoteric Buddhism.’’ He defended the book as a 
whole, while admitting the justice of some of the criti- 
cisms, which he explained by reciting Mr. Sinnett’s un- 
familiarity with the Occult tenets, and by correcting some 
of Mr. Sinnett’s erroneous deductions and expositions. 
To Subba Row’s pamphlet in turn Mr. C. C. Massey gave 
attention in a seventy-page booklet bearing the title, 
‘“‘The Metaphysical Basis of Esoteric Buddhism.’’ Mr. 
Massey’s booklet was on the whole an ably argued sup- 
port of the position taken by Dr. Kingsford, and, in addi- 
tion, embodied some criticisms and complaints on his own 
account of Madame Blavatsky’s policy. He charged her 
with teaching, first one thing and then another on the 
same subject, and of countenancing opposing views pro- 
pounded by her pupils and followers. In due sequence, 
also, Mrs. Kingsford and Mr. Maitland returned to the 
fray and published a ‘‘Reply’’ to Subba Row, reiterating 
and further fortifying their earlier criticisms and ob- 
jections. 

Mr. Massey’s charges against H.P.B. really originated 
from an article in The Theosophist. As early as June, 
1882, she had published certain questions addressed to 
her by ‘‘Caledonian Theosophist’’ on the apparent lack 
of consistency and uniformity in some of the statements 


EARLY DAYS 55 


in ‘‘Isis Unveiled’’ as compared with later articles in 
The Theosophist supposedly emanating from the same 
source. To these queries, published under the title of 
‘‘Seeming Discrepancies,’’ H.P.B. had replied in an 
Hditorial Note, closing her explanation with the words: 
‘‘But there never was, nor can there be, any radical dis- 
crepancy between the teachings in ‘Isis’ and those of this 
later period, as both proceed from one and the same 
sourcee—the Apert BrorHers.’’ In the English Spiritu- 
alist publication Light, for July 8, 1882, ‘‘C. C. M.’’ (C. 
C. Massey) took up ‘‘seeming diserepancies’’ and more 
or less directly charged H.P.B. with equivocation in her 
reply to ‘‘Caledonian Theosophist.’’ He instanced that 
in ‘Isis’? the subject of Reincarnation was treated in a 
manner not reconcilable with her later writings on the 
same topic. To this challenge H.P.B. replied in The 
Theosophist for August, 1882, denying any contradictions 
in teachings, but stating that much in ‘‘Isis’’ was pre- 
liminary only, therefore incomplete, but not in actual con- 
flict with anything subsequently given out. Various other 
articles appeared thereafter in Light, in The Theosophist, 
and in other publications in English and in French on 
this mooted subject of the Theosophical doctrines on ‘‘re- 
incarnation.’’ Arguments, speculations, charges and 
counter-claims were adduced by different writers, but 
H.P.B. held her peace. Not until 1886 did she break 
silence on the much discussed passages in ‘‘Isis,’’ Volume 
1, pp. 346-51 et circa. This will be considered in its 
proper sequence.? 

Another fruitful oceasion for external attack and in- 
ternal disturbance arose out of the publication of Mr. 
Sinnett’s book, ‘‘The Occult World.’’ This work contains 
extracts from letters of the Master ‘‘K. H.’’ to Mr. Sin- 
nett and an unnamed friend who was, in fact, Mr. A. O. 
Hume. In one of these letters the Master took occasion 
to refer to Spiritualistic ideas and theories. In 1883 Mr. 
Henry Kiddle, highly reputable and well-known Ameri- 
can lecturer on Spiritualism, published in Light a com- 
munication in which he claimed and proved that Mr. 

*$See Chapter IX. 


56 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


Sinnett’s published extract was in large part made up 
of unacknowledged quotations from an address of Mr. 
Kiddle’s delivered in the summer of 1880 (a year prior to 
the publication of ‘‘The Occult World’’) before a Spir- 
itualist camp meeting at Mount Pleasant, New York. He 
published in ‘‘deadly parallel’’ the germane portions of 
his address as printed at the time in several papers, and 
the quotations from the Master’s letter in ‘‘The Occult 
World.’’ Mr. Kiddle’s letter was, of course, very widely 
copied in Spiritualist publications and the secular press, 
and numerous Spiritualists and other commentators 
made merry over the discomfiture of the Theosophists. 
The vaunted ‘‘ Adepts,’’ it seemed, were not above stoop- 
ing to ‘‘borrow’’ without credit from ordinary human ex- 
ponents of doctrines these ‘‘Masters’’ professed to con- 
sider erroneous and false. In many quarters the episode 
was quite sincerely believed to be not only proof of plagi- 
arism, but a complete exposure of H.P.B. and her pre- 
tended Adepts. The existence of Masters and of a Wis- 
dom-Religion was derided; they were ascribed to the in- 
ventive imagination of Madame Blavatsky by some and 
by others called as much a plagiarism from the ideas of 
Eliphas Lévi as the ‘‘ Master’s letter’’ was a plagiarism 
from Mr. Kiddle. The trust of the Theosophists in the 
good faith of H.P.B., in the source of her teachings, 
and in her teachings, was considered to rest upon a basis 
more unsubstantial and more discreditable than the be- 
lief of the Spiritualists in their mediums, ‘‘guides’’ and 
‘‘controls.’’ Madame Blavatsky’s phenomenal powers 
were either laughed at as mere humbugging devices or 
ascribed to the same character as mediumship. The de- 
fenders of the orthodox sects and the disbelievers in psy- 
chical manifestations of any kind made haste to avail 
themselves of the ammunition provided by Mr. Kiddle’s 
‘‘revelation,’? and used it with equal zeal to discredit 
both the Theosophists and the Spiritualists. Much feel- 
ing grew up out of the ‘‘Kiddle incident’? and much of 
whatever amicable relations existed between the various 
Spiritualist and Theosophical exponents was dissipated 
by it. In the Theosophical Society, and among those 


EARLY DAYS 57 


friendly to it, a good deal of doubt sprang up, on the 
theory that where there was so much smoke there must be 
some fire. H.P.B. remained silent as the proverbial 
sphinx, but in time several cautiously worded articles ap- 
peared in The Theosophist and in other friendly publica- 
tions, from Subba Row and others, defending the bona 
fides of Mr. Sinnett, of the Masters, and testifying from 
personal physical as well as psychical relations with 
them to the actual existence of Adepts as living and per- 
fected men, with phenomenal powers over space, time and 
matter. Subba Row’s article, in particular, contained 
some guarded statements on the subject of the precipita- 
tion of Occult letters. He also referred to the manifest 
discrepancies in the extracts published in ‘‘The Occult 
World,’’ as indicating that in the process of ‘‘precipita- 
tion’’ some mistakes of omission or of commission had 
occurred. This article also was widely commented on, 
and the explanations hinted at were accepted of course 
by Theosophists with relief, a few others with reserve, 
but for the most part by antagonists with sarcastic com- 
ments on the ex post facto nature of the explanations. 
Finally, in 1884, in the fourth edition of ‘‘The Occult 
World,’’ Mr. Sinnett added an Appendix containing the 
Master’s own reply to his letter of inquiry on the subject. 
The explanation given was received by many as not only 
wholly satisfactory in itself, but as containing some most 
valuable hints on Occult processes; by others as merely a 
further effort on the part of the Theosophists to extri- 
cate themselves from an embarrassing situation. As the 
‘‘Kiddle incident’’ the matter has long since been for- 
eotten or has never been heard of by present-day stu- 
dents, but it has an important bearing on the ‘‘Coulomb 
case,’’ on the ‘‘Report’’ of the Society for Psychical Re- 
search, on the charges made a decade later against Mr. 
Judge, and on the whole subject of the phenomena of 
‘‘precipitation,’’ and the so-called ‘‘Occult letters.’’ We 
shall treat the matter more fully at a later period of 
the Theosophical Movement.? 

The troubles over the Kiddle matter, the charges of 

?See Chapters XXVI and XXX. 


58 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


contradictory teachings on the subject of ‘‘reincarna- 
tion,’’ the disputes existing in the London Lodge as a 
result of the broadsides of pamphlets on the materialistic 
trend of ‘‘Esoteric Buddhism,’’ all occurred contem- 
poraneously and were added to by sharp dissensions 
among the French Fellows. Practically all the members 
of the Society in France were Spiritualists, and be- 
lievers in ‘‘reincarnation’’ and other subjects as de- 
veloped by Allan Kardee. As the Theosophical teachings 
were at variance, both in theory and practice, with the 
Kardec philosophy, the zeal of the proponents of the 
respective views threatened to disrupt the Paris Lodge 
as well as the British. These and other reasons impelled 
H.P.B. and Col. Olcott to make a visit to Hurope. They 
accordingly sailed from India early in 1884. The Paris 
difficulties were first adjusted and a new impetus given 
both to the Society and the Movement. It was while at 
Paris on this occasion that V. V. Solovyoff sought and 
made the acquaintance of H.P.B., became a Fellow 
of the Society and, for the time being, an assiduous 
worker and student. Mr. Judge had come over from 
America to meet the Founders. He spent some time with 
H.P.B. in France and then went on to India, returning 
to America via London, where he met Col. Olcott again, 
late in the year. After their Paris stay H.P.B. and 
Col. Olcott proceeded to London. Much time and effort 
were given to straightening out the difficulties in the 
London and Paris Lodges, to meeting the Fellows of the 
Society, and in receptions to inquirers. An immense 
interest was excited by the presence in England of 
H.P.B., and it was at this time—the summer of 1884— 
that the Society for Psychical Research began its investi- 
gations of the Theosophical phenomena. To this we must 
now turn our attention. 


CHAPTER V 
THE S.P.R. AND THE THEOSOPHICAL PHENOMENA 


Tue first serious modern attempt to investigate meta- 
physical phenomena in a quasi-scientific spirit was that 
made by the London Dialectical Society. At a meet- 
ing of the Council of that Society in January, 1869, a 
Committee was appointed ‘‘to investigate the Phenomena 
alleged to be Spiritual Manifestations, and to report 
thereon.’’ 

The Committee, composed of thirty-four well-known 
persons, passed nearly eighteen months in its investiga- 
tions. It held fifteen sittings of the full Committee, re- 
ceived testimony from thirty-three persons who described 
phenomena occurring within their own personal experi- 
ence, and procured written statements from thirty-one 
others. The Committee also appointed from its member- 
ship six subcommittees who undertook first-hand investi- 
gations by experiments and tests. The Committee sent 
out letters inviting the attendance, co-operation, and ad- 
vice of scientific men who had expressed opinions, favor- 
able or adverse, on the genuineness of Spiritualistic 
phenomena. 

On July 20, 1870, the full Committee rendered its un- 
animous Report to the Council, with request for publica- 
tion of the Report under the approval of the Society. 
The Council received and filed the Report, discharged its 
Committee with a vote of thanks, but declined to accede 
to the request for publication of the Report. In conse- 
quence the Committee unanimously resolved to publish 
its Report on its own responsibility. Two editions of the 
Report were printed to supply the demand for copies, 
and at the time caused a very great discussion. 

The Report is drawn with great conservatism. The 

59 


60 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


statement of facts ascertained and conclusions reached by 
the Committee is, condensed, as follows: 

The Committee specially invited the attendance of per- 
sons who had publicly ascribed the phenomena to im- 
posture or delusion. On this the Report says: 


Your Committee, while successful in procur- 
ing the evidence of believers in the phenomena 
and in their supernatural origin, almost wholly 
failed to obtain evidence from those who at- 
tributed them to fraud or delusion. A large ma- 
jority of the members of your Committee have 
become actual witnesses to several phases of the 
phenomena without the aid or presence of any 
professional medium, although the greater part 
of them commenced their investigations in an 
avowedly sceptical spirit. 


The Committee recites that the reports of the several 
subcommittees ‘‘substantially corroborate each other.’’ 
The Report concludes: 


Your Committee, taking into consideration 
the high character and great intelligence of 
many of the witnesses to the more extraordinary 
facts, the extent to which their testimony is sup- 
ported by the reports of the subcommittees, and 
the absence of any proof of imposture or delusion 
as regards a large portion of the phenomena, the 
large number of persons in every grade of so- 
ciety and over the whole civilized world who are 
more or less influenced by a belief in their 
supernatural origin, and the fact that no philo- 
sophical explanation of them has yet been arrived 
at, deem it incumbent upon them to state their 
conviction that the subject is worthy of more 
serious attention and careful investigation than 
it has hitherto received. 


It has been fifty years since the above Report was 
issued. In that period unnumbered thousands have re- 


THE S.P.R.—THE COULOMBS 61 


peated the investigations of ‘‘the phenomena alleged to 
be spiritual manifestations,’’ great numbers of books 
have been issued, arguments and theories pro and con 
have been multiplied, but no advance whatever in actual 
knowledge has been gained. It remains today, as it re- 
mained then, that ‘‘no philosophical explanation of them 
has been arrived at’’ outside the propositions advanced 
by H. P. Blavatsky in ‘‘Isis Unveiled.”’ 

Viewing the moderation, the accuracy and the dispas- 
sionateness of the Committee’s report of facts ascer- 
tained and conclusions reached, it should be of interest 
to the student of human nature in the light of the teach- 
ings of Theosophy, to observe the reception accorded the 
Report of the Committee by the moulders of public 
opinion in press and science. The London Times called 
the Report ‘‘a farrago of impotent conclusions, garnished 
by a mass of the most monstrous rubbish it has ever been 
our misfortune to sit in judgment upon.’’ The Pall Mall 
Gazette declared, ‘‘It is difficult to speak or think with 
anything else than contemptuous pain of proceedings 
such as are described in this report.’’ The London 
Standard commented, with unconscious verisimilitude, as 
follows: ‘‘If there is anything whatever in it beyond im- 
posture and imbecility, there is the whole of another 
world in it.’’ The Morning Post swept the whole matter 
aside in one contemptuous sentence: ‘‘The Report which 
has been published is entirely worthless.’’ The Saturday 
Review pronounced the subject ‘‘one of the most un- 
equivocally degrading superstitions that have ever found 
currency among reasonable beings.’’ The reviewer of 
the Sporting Times made these dispassionate remarks: 
‘‘If I had my way, a few of the leading professional 
spiritualists should be sent as rogues and vagabonds to 
the treadmill for a few weeks. It would do them good. 
They are a canting, deceiving, mischievous lot. Some of 
their dupes are contemptibly stupid—insane, I should 
say.’’ Professor Huxley, who had spoken slightingly of 
the manifestations, wrote, in reply to the Committee’s 
invitation to participate: ‘‘It would be little short of 
madness for me to undertake an investigation of so deli- 


62 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


cate and difficult a character, the only certain result of 
which would be an interminable series of attacks from 
the side from which I might chance to differ. I hope that 
I am perfectly open to conviction on this or any other 
subject; but I must frankly confess to you that it does 
not interest me.’’ Professor Tyndall’s attitude is in- 
dicated by this quotation from his ‘‘Fragments of 
Science’’: ‘‘The world will have a religion of some kind, 
even though it should fly for it to the intellectual whore- 
dom of Spiritualism.’’ 

While the Dialectical Society Committee was engaged 
in its investigation, Prof. William Crookes, later to be- 
come the most notable scientist of his generation but 
then just beginning to attract the attention of the Fel- 
lows of the Royal Society, had determined on his own 
account to study the phenomena privately. His bold and 
unqualified statements of the results achieved, his cauti- 
ous discussion of the many theories to account for the 
phenomena he witnessed, were first printed in the num- 
bers of the Quarterly Journal of Science for 1870-2, and 
published in book form in 1874, with the title, ‘‘Re- 
searches into the Phenomena of Spiritualism.’’ His re- 
searches were undertaken in a truly scientific spirit, in 
the public interest, and his results described with a sin- 
cerity, a courage and candor that in any other field would 
have received, as they merited, the highest commenda- 
tion. But upon his head, as in the case of Darwin, was 
heaped every abuse, and against his scientific repute 
every calumny was spread, that could be devised by the 
reactionists of religion and science. 

In 1875 was published ‘‘The Unseen Universe,’’ an at- 
tempt primarily to reconcile the Darwinian theory with 
the tenet of a ‘‘revealed religion,’’ and containing a dis- 
cussion of ancient religions, Spiritualism, and immortal- 
ity in relation to the phenomena of the visible universe. 
In less than a year the work passed through four edi- 
tions. Numerous other books and continuous discussion 
in the press throughout the period from 1870-80 marked 
the steady increase of interest in metaphysical phe- 
nomena, and betokened the growing unrest of the genera- 


THE S.P.R.—THE COULOMBS 63 


tion. The formation of the Theosophical Society and its 
rapid progress was like a Gulf stream in the vast ocean of 
public discussion. The teachings embodied in ‘‘Isis Un- 
veiled’? and The Theosophist and put in popular form 
in ‘The Occult World’’ and ‘‘ Esoteric Buddhism’’ might 
be likened to the sudden upheaval of a new land in the 
midst of that ocean, offering its compelling attraction 
to adventurous explorers. 

It was in such circumstances that the Society for Psy- 
chical Research was established early in 1882 by a num- 
ber of well-known persons, among them Prof. F. W. H. 
Myers, Mr. W. Stainton Moses (M.A. Oxon), and Mr. 
C. C. Massey, all members of the London Lodge of the 
Theosophical Society. The preliminary announcement 
of the new Society declared that ‘‘the present is an op- 
portune time for making an organized and systematic 
attempt to investigate that large group of debatable 
phenomena designated by such terms as mesmeric, psy- 
chical, and Spiritualistic.’? Committees were to be 
appointed to investigate and report upon such subjects 
as telepathy, hypnotism, trance, clairvoyance, sensitives, 
apparitions, ete. The announcement stated that ‘‘the 
aim of the Society will be to approach these various 
problems without prejudice or prepossession of any kind, 
and in the same spirit of exact and unimpassioned inquiry 
which has enabled science to solve so many problems, 
once not less obscure nor less hotly debated.’’ 

With such a broad and just prospectus and such an 
inviting field for its efforts, the new Society almost im- 
mediately attracted to its Fellowship some hundreds of 
men and women of reputation and ability in their several 
fields. By 1884 the Society had made numerous investi- 
gations, had begun the publication of the voluminous re- 
ports of its Proceedings, and was firmly established in 
the public confidence as a serious scientific body engaged 
in the methodical and unbiased investigation of the dis- 
puted phenomena. 

Meantime Mr. Sinnett had removed to London, his 
published books had been read by thousands, he had been 
elected Vice-President of the London Lodge, and was 


64 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


the center and inspiration of eager investigations and 
experiments in the line of the Third Object of the The- 
osophical Society. Rumors and circumstantial stories 
were afloat regarding ‘‘astral appearances,’’ ‘‘Occult 
letters’? and other phenomena connected with the mys- 
terious ‘‘ Brothers’’ supposed to be the invisible directors 
behind the Theosophical activities. When Col. Olcott ar- 
rived in London early in the summer of 1884, followed 
a little later by H.P.B., interest rose to a genuine ex- 
citement. This excitement, coupled with the fact that 
a number of members of the Society for Psychical Re- 
search were also Fellows of the Theosophical Society, 
made it natural and plausible for the S.P.R. to turn its 
attention to the new and inviting possibilities at hand. 
Accordingly, on May 2, 1884, the Council of the S.P.R. 
appointed a ‘‘Committee for the purpose of taking such 
evidence as to the alleged phenomena connected with the 
Theosophical Society as might be offered by members of 
that body at the time in England, or as could be collected 
elsewhere.’’ Out of this beginning grew the famous ‘‘ex- 
posure’’ that for a time threatened the ruin of the The- 
osophical Society. 

The S.P.R. Committee as originally constituted con- 
sisted of Profs. EK. Gurney, F. W. H. Myers, F. Podmore, 
and J. H. Stack. To these were subsequently added Prof. 
H. Sidgwick, Mrs. Sidgwick, and Mr. Richard Hodgson, 
a young University graduate. 

The Committee held meetings on May 11 and 27 at 
which Col. Olcott was present and replied to numerous 
questions, narrating the details of various phenomena 
of which he had been witness during the years of his 
connection with H.P.B. Mohini M. Chatterji, a young 
Hindu who had accompanied the Founders from India, 
was questioned on June 10. On June 13 Mr. Sinnett re- 
peated to the Committee his observations on the phe- 
nomena described in his ‘‘Occult World.’’? During the 
summer the meetings of the Cambridge Branch of the 
S.P.R. were attended on several occasions, by invita- 
tion, by Col. Olcott, Chatterji, and Madame Blavatsky. 
On these occasions, says the preliminary Report, ‘‘the 


THE S.P.R.—THE COULOMBS 65 


visitors permitted themselves to be questioned on many 
topies.’’? Additional evidences were obtained by the Com- 
mittee from many sources, testifying to a wide range 
and variety of phenomena through the preceding ten 
years, in America and Europe as well as in India. All 
the witnesses were persons of repute and some of them 
well known in England and on the Continent. In the 
autumn of 1884 the Committee published ‘‘for private 
and confidential use’’ the ‘‘first report of the Commit- 
tee.’’ This Report, now very rare, is a pamphlet of 130 
pages. The first thirty-three pages are devoted to the 
formal recital of the basis and nature of the investiga- 
tions made, the Committee’s comments on the various 
questions raised, the conclusions tentatively arrived at, 
and two notes, one relating to the Coulombs and the other, 
by Prof. Myers, giving a brief digest of the Theosophical 
views and explanations of the phenomena enquired into. 
The remaining ninety-seven pages consist of XLII Ap- 
pendices, giving the substance of the evidence obtained 
from the many witnesses. 

The phenomena investigated by the Committee were 
chiefly (1) ‘‘astral appearances’’ of living men; (2) the 
transportation by ‘‘Occult’’ means of physical sub- 
stances; (3) the ‘‘precipitation’’ of letters and other 
messages; (4) ‘‘Occult’’? sounds and voices. The ap- 
pendices contain the details of numerous occurrences of 
the kinds indicated, the sources of the testimony and 
the names of the scores of witnesses, with comments of 
the Committee on the character and validity of the testi- 
mony as to its sufficiency and bearing, and not upon the 
good faith of the witnesses themselves, all of whom are 
regarded as reputable. In the earlier portion of the Re- 
port the Committee says that in considering evidences of 
abnormal occurrences it ‘‘has altogether declined to ac- 
cept the evidence of a paid medium as to any abnormal 
event.’’? It goes on to say, ‘‘in dealing with these mat- 
ters, it is admitted that special stringency is necessary, 
and one obvious precaution lies in the exclusion of all the 
commoner and baser motives to fraud or exaggeration.’’ 
But with regard to the Theosophical exponents it says, 


66 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


‘‘we may say at once that no trustworthy evidence sup- 
porting such a view has been brought to our notice.”’ 

Although the witnesses expressly state that the The- 
osophical phenomena are not of the kind familiarly known 
as mediumistic, and although Madame Blavatsky ex- 
pressly declined to produce any phenomena for the con- 
sideration of the Committee as her purpose was to pro- 
mulgate certain doctrines, not to prove her possession of 
Occult powers, the Committee’s basis of treatment of 
the phenomena, and its theories to account for them, 
were the familiar ones employed in Spiritualistic investi- 
gations. Nevertheless, the Committee recognized that 
there were three points calling for the greatest care on 
its part. The first of these is ‘‘that it is certain that 
fraud has been practiced by persons connected with the 
Society.’’ This refers to the charges brought by the 
Coulombs, who were members of the Theosophical So- 
ciety, against Madame Blavatsky; to the ‘‘Kiddle inci- 
dent,’’ and to certain ‘‘evidence privately brought before 
us by Mr. C. C. Massey.’’ On this matter the Committee 
says that it suggests, ‘‘to the Western mind at any rate, 
that no amount of caution can be excessive in dealing 
with evidence of this kind.’’ 

The second point raised by the Committee is that 
‘‘Theosophy appeals to Occult persons and methods.”’ 
Accustomed to dealing with mediums and mediumistic 
manifestations, where the moral and philosophical fac- 
tors have no bearing, accustomed to believe that where 
there is reticence there must be fraud, the Committee 
does not like the idea made plain at all times by H.P.B. 
that the subject of Occult phenomena, their production 
and laws, will not be submitted to scientific exploitation, 
but will only be made known to those who qualify them- 
selves under the strictest pledges of secrecy and dis- 
cipleship. 

Finally, the Committee recognizes that 


Theosophy makes claims which, though 
avowedly based on occult science, do, in fact, 


THE S.P.R.—THE COULOMBS 67 


ultimately cover much more than a merely 
scientific field. 


This, also, is not agreeable to the Committee, which 
remarks: 


The history of religions would have been writ- 
ten in vain if we still fancied that a Judas or 
a Joe Smith was the only kind of apostle who 
needed watching. ... Suspicions of this kind 
are necessarily somewhat vague; but it is not 
our place to give them definiteness. What we 
have to point out is that it is our duty, as inves- 
tigators, in examining the evidence for The- 
osophic marvels, to suppose the possibility of a 
deliberate combination to deceive on the part of 
certain Theosophists. We cannot regard this 
possibility as excluded by the fact that we find 
no reason to attribute to any of the persons 
whose evidence we have to consider, any vulgar 
or sordid motive for such combination. 


These frank expressions of the Committee are illumi- 
nating as to its own basis and motives, and equally illu- 
minating when contrasted with the fair promises made 
in the preliminary announcement of the formation of 
the S.P.R. They become still more clear when viewed 
in the light of the Preface to ‘‘Isis Unveiled,’’ with its 
statement in advance of the kind of opposition its au- 
thor would be called upon to face. 

In spite of its suspicions, its doubts, its fears, its 
mental reservations occasioned by its own ignorance of 
the laws governing metaphysical phenomena; by the ab- 
solute refusal of H.P.B. to disclose the processes of 
practical Occultism; by the atmosphere of mystery sur- 
rounding the whole subject of the hidden ‘‘Brothers’’ 
and their powers; by the charges of fraud laid by the 
Coulombs at the door of H.P.B.; by the undisclosed 
‘‘evidence privately brought before us by Mr. C. C. Mas- 


68 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


sey’’—in spite of all these disturbing equations, the testi- 
mony amassed by the Committee was so absolutely 
overwhelming as to the fact of the alleged phenomena 
that the Committee found itself compelled to make cer- 
tain admissions, as follows: 


It is obvious that if we could account for all 
the phenomena described by the mere assump- 
tion of clever conjuring on the part of Madame 
Blavatsky and the Coulombs, assisted by any 
number of Hindu servants, we could hardly, 
under present circumstances, regard ourselves 
as having adequate ground for further inquiry. 
But this assumption would by no means meet 
the case. The statements of the Coulombs im- 
plicate no one in the alleged fraud except 
Madame Blavatsky. The other Theosophists, 
according to them, are all dupes. Now the evi- 
dence given in the Appendix in our opinion ren- 
ders it impossible to avoid one or other of two 
alternative conclusions: Hither that some of the 
phenomena recorded are genuine, or that other 
persons of good standing in society, and with 
characters to lose, have taken part in deliberate 
imposture. 


Accordingly, the Committee expressed the following 
conclusions : 


On the whole, however (though with some 
Serious reserves), it seems undeniable that there 
is a prima facie case, for some part at least of 
the claim made, which, at the point which the in- 
vestigations of the Society of Psychical Re- 
search have now reached, cannot, with consis- 
tency, be ignored. 


The Committee decided to send one of its members to 
India to investigate the charges made by the Coulombs, 
to interview the numerous witnesses to phenomena testi- 
fied to by Hindus and Europeans in India, and report 


THE S.P.R.—THE COULOMBS 69 


on the results of such examination. Mr. Richard Hodg- 
son was the member chosen. His report is the founda- 
tion and superstructure of the celebrated ‘‘exposure’’ 
embodied in Volume 3 of the Proceedings of the Society 
for Psychical Research. Before considering Mr. Hodg- 
son’s report, it is necessary to review the antecedent and 
surrounding circumstances and events, the main features 
of which are wrapped up in the connection of the Cou- 
lombs with the Theosophical Society. 

In the year 1871, Madame Blavatsky was voyaging on 
a vessel which was wrecked by an explosion. Along with 
other passengers she was landed in HKgypt, destitute of 
money or belongings. She made her way to Cairo and 
there met Madame Coulomb, an English woman then un- 
married and conducting a lodging house. Madame 
Coulomb was moved by the misfortunes and distress of 
the wanderer, received her into her house, supplied her 
necessities and advanced her funds until H.P.B. could 
communicate with her family. 

Madame Coulomb was mediumistic, intensely inter- 
ested in Spiritualism, and the more so because she had 
but recently lost a brother with whom she was anxious 
to ‘‘communicate.’’ Finding that H.P.B. possessed a 
fund of lore and experience in matters Occult, Madame 
Coulomb besought her to aid in procuring the longed-for 
communications, as, from her experience, they could not 
consciously be obtained except through another. Finding 
that others in Cairo were also interested in the mysteri- 
ous phenomena with which all the Western world was 
then dabbling in one way and another, H.P.B. took 
advantage of the opportunity, and endeavored to form 
a Society for investigation and experiment. It speedily 
developed that curiosity and the thirst for phenomena, 
not the desire for philosophy and understanding, were at 
the bottom of all the would-be investigators’ zeal, and 
H.P.B. dropped the matter. The Society went to pieces 
as soon as she did so. H.P.B. was in Egypt in all nearly 
a year, returning to Russia in 1872. From there, in the 
spring of 1873, she went to Paris, and thence to New 
York, returning to India early in 1879. 


70 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


Madame Coulomb married in Egypt. After a succes- 
sion of misfortunes the Coulombs went to India, and 
then to Ceylon. Their misfortunes pursued them and 
they were living in direst penury when they heard of 
the arrival of H.P.B. and Col. Olcott in India and the 
interest attendant upon their activities. Madame 
Coulomb at once wrote to H.P.B., recalling the Cairo 
acquaintance, detailing her circumstances and asking for 
help. To this letter H.P.B. replied with expressions of 
sympathy, but stating that she herself was in little better 
plight personally than the Coulombs, and describing her 
mission and purposes in India. Madame Coulomb wrote 
again avowing the interest of herself and husband in the 
Society, and pleading for help. To this appeal H.P.B. 
answered that if the Coulombs so desired they could come 
to headquarters and share such fortunes as might befall 
the Founders. Accordingly, the Coulombs made their 
way to India, arriving early in 1880. They took the 
pledges of membership and entered the Theosophical So- 
ciety. During the ensuing four years Madame Coulomb 
acted as housekeeper, and, as she was acquainted both 
with French and Italian, and the labors were great and 
the workers few, she assisted in translations and in for- 
elgn correspondence. M. Coulomb was made general 
utility man around the premises. He acted as gardener, 
as carpenter, as librarian, and also assisted in some of 
the correspondence. The Coulombs were made entirely 
free of the premises and the work at headquarters. At 
first they professed the utmost gratitude for the succors 
given them, and the liveliest interest and sympathy in 
the work of the Society. As affairs progressed, they 
became acquainted with numerous visitors and inquirers, 
European and Hindu, at headquarters. Dissatisfied and 
discontented with the comparatively insignificant and 
menial role played by themselves, they felt that they 
were not receiving their just dues. Greedy, weak by 
nature, and anxious to become financially independent, 
it appeared to them that Madame Blavatsky was receiv- 
ing an attention and prominence to which she was no more 
entitled than themselves. In addition, the Coulombs were 


THE S.P.R.—THE COULOMBS 71 


Christians of the narrowest kind, superstitious to a de- 
gree, and in fact wholly out of sympathy and accord with 
the aims and teachings of the Founders. 

Within a couple of years Madame Coulomb tried to 
extort or beg money from wealthy persons interested 
in the Society, notably from the native prince, Har- 
risinji Rupsinji. This coming to the knowledge of 
H.P.B., she reproved Madame Coulomb sternly. To 
others of the visitors and residents at headquarters 
Madame Coulomb whispered tales of her own powers 
and of her ability to find ‘‘hidden treasures.’’ To others 
she intimated that Madame Blavatsky’s powers were 
from the ‘‘evil one.’’ The Coulombs were more or less 
constantly in communication with the establishments of 
the missionaries near by, and Madame Coulomb, in par- 
ticular, was in constant frictions and disputes over re- 
ligious matters and opinions with resident chelas and 
members of the Society. Col. Olcott took her to task for 
these needless difficulties on several occasions. In gen- 
eral, however, the Coulombs were looked upon as harm- 
less meddlers, their misfortunes caused them to be viewed 
with charity, and the known gratitude of H.P.B. for 
help received from Madame Coulomb at a time of need 
reconciled the Theosophists to the annoyances and dis- 
turbances occasioned by their presence and officiousness 
at headquarters. 

Just prior to the departure of H.P.B. and Col. Olcott 
for Europe in February, 1884, a Council was appointed 
to take charge of affairs at headquarters during the ab- 
sence of the Founders. Among the Council were Dr. 
Franz Hartmann, Mr. St. George Lane-Fox, and Mr. W. 
T. Brown, with whom, particularly Dr. Hartmann and 
Mr. Lane-Fox, the Coulombs had been in almost constant 
wrangles. These desired to dispense with the Coulombs 
altogether, but on the prayers of Madame Coulomb 
H.P.B. permitted them to remain as hitherto, and, in 
order to remove sources of disagreement as much as 
possible, gave the Coulombs ‘‘authority’’ to do the house- 
work, to have charge of the upkeep of the premises, and 
to keep her own rooms in order. 


72 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


The Founders away, fresh fuel for the fires of discord 
was soon heaped on the ashes of discontent. The Cou- 
lombs refused to accept any orders or obey any instruc- 
tions from the resident members of the Council; they 
refused all access to H.P.B.’s apartments and declared 
that H.P.B. had placed them in independent control 
of her quarters and the conduct of the household. On 
the other hand, the members of the Council living at 
headquarters, having no liking for the Coulombs and dis- 
trusting them utterly were more or less harsh and con- 
temptuous towards them, communicating with them only 
by letter, and refusing to eat with them, or to eat the 
food provided by Madame Coulomb. They charged 
Madame Coulomb with extravagance, waste, and with 
personally profiting out of her handling of the domestic 
funds, and set about auditing and checking her daily ex- 
penditures. Vain, sensitive, and without doubt smarting 
under their grievances, real and imaginary, the Cou- 
lombs planned revenge in dual fashion. They wrote to 
H.P.B., reciting their wrongs, asserting their own loy- 
alty and innocence of any wrong-doing, and making sun- 
dry charges against the Council members. At the same 
time the Council members were also writing the Founders 
their side of the disputes, and telling circumstantially 
the actions of the Coulombs and the insinuations being 
whispered about by them against the good faith of the 
Theosophists and H.P.B. While this war of charges 
and recriminations was going on by mail, the Coulombs 
were busy fortifying themselves for their ultimate 
treachery by constructing false doors and sliding panels 
in the so-called ‘ Occult room’’ in H.P.B.’s apartments 
so as to give such an appearance of mechanical contri- 
vance as might support charges of fraud in the phe- 
nomena taking place at headquarters. To our mind, 
after weighing well all the circumstances of this unhappy 
period, there is no room for doubt that the Coulombs 
were already in active conspiracy with the missionaries 
and were carefully following able but sinister instruc- 
tions in their course of conduct. By temporizing with 
the resident members of the Council, by their written 


THE S.P.R.—THE COULOMBS 73 


denials and protestations to H.P.B. and Col. Olcott, 
they were gaining the time needed to perfect the mise en 
scene for their subsequent accusations. 

Both H.P.B. and Col. Oleott wrote the Coulombs 
and the Council, endeavoring to patch up the rancors 
and bitternesses engendered, and appealing to all for the 
sake of the Society and its work, to exercise mutual for- 
bearance and tolerance. But the evil forces at work were 
too favored of circumstance. The Council members at 
last forced their way to the quarters of H.P.B., dis- 
covered what had been going on there, talked severally 
with the Coulombs, and summoned them before the meet- 
ing of the Council to answer charges of bad faith, of 
treachery, of false stories about H.P.B. and the phe- 
nomena at headquarters. The Coulombs neither affirmed 
nor denied the statements made in the several. affidavits 
read concerning their behavior, and declining to produce 
any evidence to support their allegations, were expelled 
from the Society and ordered to leave the premises. Le- 
gal proceedings were then threatened to eject them, and 
in the wrangling St. George Lane-Fox struck M. Coulomb, 
who had him arrested and fined for assault and battery. 
The Coulombs offered, during the disputes and negotia- 
tions, to leave the country and go to America if paid 
3,000 rupees and given their passage. This was refused. 
Finally, on the direct approval of H.P.B., to whom both 
the Coulombs and the Council members had appealed, and 
after the Coulombs had threatened to her that if she 
did not support them in their contentions they would 
expose her, the Coulombs were compelled to leave the 
premises. This took place at the end of May, 1884. 

The Coulombs went at once to the missionaries by whom 
they were received with open arms. They were given 
money and their living was provided them. In the en- 
suing three months the plans of battle were perfected for 
the assault which it was hoped would once and for all 
destroy the reputation of H.P.B., and in the ruin of her 
good repute, ruin the Theosophical Society. In the Sep- 
tember and succeeding issues of the Christian College 
Magazme were published with extended comments a 


74 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


series of letters purporting to have been written by 
H.P.B. to Madame Coulomb which, if genuine, showed 
H.P.B. to have been a conscienceless and heartless 
swindler, her phenomena plain frauds, her Society a col- 
lection of dupes, her Masters a mere invention, her teach- 
ings a myth of the imagination. 

The facts, so far as publicly disclosed, may be found 
as represented by the various interests involved, in the 
Christian College Magazine articles entitled ‘‘The Col- 
lapse of Koot Hoomi’’; in Madame Coulomb’s pamphlet 
issued at the time in India and republished in London 
by Elhott Stock ‘‘for the proprietors of the Madras 
Christian College Magazine,’’ under the title ‘‘Some Ac- 
count of My Intercourse with Madame Blavatsky from 
1872 to 1884, by Madame Coulomb’’; in Dr. Franz Hart- 
mann’s pamphlet, ‘‘Observations During a Nine Months’ 
Stay at the Headquarters of the Theosophical Society, 
Madras, India,’’ published in the fall of 1884; in the 
‘‘Report of the Result of an Investigation into the 
Charges against Madame Blavatsky,’’ by the Commit- 
tee of the Indian Convention; in the Report of the Indian 
Convention of the Theosophists held at the close of De- 
cember, 1884; in Mr. Sinnett’s book, ‘‘Incidents in the 
Life of H. P. Blavatsky’’; in Col. Oleott’s ‘‘Old Diary 
Leaves,’’? and in numerous articles pro and con at the 
time and during succeeding years in many Theosophical, 
Spiritualist, Christian, and secular publications. The 
facts as herein given are those derived from the immense 
accumulation of literature on the subject, after the most 
careful and painstaking comparison and weighing. 

We may now consider the effect of the Coulomb dis- 
closures and the missionary use of them, both on the 
Theosophists and on the Society for Psychical Research. 


CHAPTER VI 
THE REPORT OF THE S.P.R. 


- Tur Preliminary Report of the Committee of the So- 
ciety for Psychical Research was drawn up in the midst 
of the excitement occasioned by the Coulomb accusations 
and the missionary attacks in the Christian College 
Magazine of Madras, India. 

Immediately the charges were cabled to England 
Madame Blavatsky took steps to protect the good name 
of the Theosophical Society. On September 27, 1884, 
she handed to Col. Olcott as President her resignation 
as Corresponding Secretary, but under pressure from 
leading members of the Society in England Col. Olcott 
refused to accept her withdrawal. At the same time 
H.P.B. addressed a letter to the London Times which 
was published in that paper in its issue of October 9. 

The letter follows: 


Sir,—With reference to the alleged exposure 
at Madras of a dishonourable conspiracy be- 
tween myself and two persons of the name of 
Coulomb to deceive the public with occult phe- 
nomena, I have to say that the letters purporting 
to have been written by me are certainly not 
mine. Sentences here and there I recognise, 
taken from old notes of mine on different mat- 
ters, but they are mingled with interpolations 
that entirely pervert their meaning. With these 
exceptions the whole of the letters are a 
fabrication. 

The fabricators must have been grossly ig- 
norant of Indian affairs, since they make me 
speak of a ‘‘ Maharajah of Lahore,’’ when every 

75 


76 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


Indian schoolboy knows that no such person 
exists. 

With regard to the suggestion that I attempted 
to promote the ‘‘financial prosperity’’ of the 
Theosophical Society by means of occult phe- 
nomena, I say that I have never at any time 
received, or attempted to obtain, from any per- 
son any money either for myself or for the So- 
ciety by any such means. I defy anyone to come 
forward and prove the contrary. Such money 
as I have received has been earned by literary 
work of my own, and these earnings, and what 
remained of my inherited property when I went 
to India, have been devoted to the Theosophical 
Society. I am a poorer woman to-day than I 
was when, with others, I founded the Society. 
—Your obedient Servant, 

H. P. Buavatsry. 


On October 23, the Pall Mall Gazette published a long 
interview with H.P.B. in which her denial of the author- 
ship of the letters attributed to her by the Coulombs 
is reiterated, the facts of the Coulombs’ bad faith given 
and attention called to the further fact that two letters 
attributed by the Coulombs to Gen. Morgan and Mr. 
Sassoon had already been conclusively proved to be 
forgeries. 

On the opposing side the attack was pressed with 
vigor and all possible capital made of the Coulomb ac-— 
cusations, with, of course, a renewal of every old and 
exploded charge against H.P.B., her teachings, and her 
Society. The Christian sects, the Spiritualist publica- 
tions, the space writers in the daily press to whom any 
sensation was so much material for ‘‘copy,’’ regardless 
of the merits of the case, all joined in the fray. 

Immediate preparations were made by the Founders 
to return to India. Colonel Olcott arrived at headquar- 
ters in November. H.P.B. stopped off in Egypt to 
obtain information in regard to the Coulombs and did 
not reach India till December. On her arrival she was 


REPORT OF THE S.P.R. 77 


met and presented with an Address signed by some three 
hundred of the native students of the Christian Col- 
lege, expressing gratitude for what she had done for 
India, and disclaiming any part or sympathy in the at- 
tacks of the Christian College Magazine. 

The Convention of the Society in India met at head- 
quarters near the end of December. From the first 
H.P.B. had insisted that the Coulombs and the pro- 
prietors of the Christian College Magazine must be met 
in Court by legal proceedings for libel. The future of 
the Society, the bona fides of her teachings, she declared 
were wrapped up in the assaults made upon her own 
reputation, and if her good name were destroyed both 
the Society and Theosophy would suffer irreparable in- 
jury. For herself, she avowed, she cared nothing per- 
sonally, but the fierce onset was in reality directed against 
her work, and that work could not be separated in the 
public mind from herself as its leading exponent. To 
destroy the one was to inflict disaster on the other. 

Colonel Olcott was between Scylla and Charybdis, both 
in himself and in relation to the Society to which he was 
wholly devoted. His close and long personal friendship 
and spiritualistic relations with Mr. W. Stainton Moses 
and Mr. C. C. Massey, both of whom believed that H.P.B. 
had been the agency both for genuine and spurious phe- 
nomena, undoubtedly affected him powerfully. His rela- 
tions with Mr. Sinnett were concordant in Theosophical 
views, and he knew that Mr. Sinnett had similar ideas 
to his own regarding the nature of H.P.B. On his re- 
turn to India he found that Mr. A. O. Hume, formerly 
a responsible Government official and, next to Mr. Sin- 
nett, the most influential friend of the Society in India, 
had become infected with doubts and suspicions and be- 
lieved that, while some of H.P.B.’s phenomena were 
undoubtedly genuine, others had been produced by col- 
lusion with the Coulombs. Colonel Olcott speedily found, 
also, that the more prominent Hindu members of the 
Society, while willing to speak politely in favor of 
H.P.B., were a unit in opposition to legal proceedings 
in which religious convictions and subjects sacred to 


78 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


them would be dragged in the mire of merciless treat- 
ment by the defendants’ attorneys in an alien Court. On 
every hand he was urged to consider that psychical pow- 
ers and principles could be proved only by actual produc- 
tion of phenomena in Court—a thing forbidden alike by 
their religious training and the rules of Occultism. 
Others argued that a judgment, even if obtained, would 
be valueless before the world, since the mischief was 
already done; those who believed the phenomena fraudu- 
lent would still think so, judgment or no judgment; those 
who believed them genuine would continue to hold that 
view if the matter were allowed to drop; while an ad- 
verse judgment would forever brand H.P.B. and de- 
stroy the Society beyond any hope of resuscitation. 

But H.P.B. stood firm for legal prosecution of the 
defamers, declaring her faith in Masters and her own 
innocence; that They would not countenance disloyalty 
and ingratitude, and that, if worst came to worst, it were 
better for the Theosophists to be destroyed fighting for 
what they held to be true than to live on by an inglorious 
and ignominious evasion of the issues raised. Torn by 
his fears and doubts, Col. Olcott took what was doubt- 
less to him the only possible road. He proposed a com- 
promise which was in effect a betrayal; he demanded that 
H.P.B. place the matter in the hands of the Conven- 
tion and abide by its decision; threatening, if this were 
not done, that he himself and the others with him would 
abandon the Society and leave it to its fate. H.P.B. 
acceded to the demand made. Accordingly, at the Con- 
vention a Committee was appointed, and this Committee 
unanimously reported as follows: 


Resolved—That the letters published in the 
Christian College Magazine under the heading 
‘“Collapse of Koot Hoomi’’ are only a pretext to 
injure the cause of Theosophy; and as these let- 
ters necessarily appear absurd to those who are 
acquainted with our philosophy and facts, and as 
those who are not acquainted with those facts 
could not have their opinion changed, even by a 


REPORT OF THE S.P.R. 79 


judicial verdict given in favour of Madame Bla- 
vatsky, therefore it is the unanimous opinion of 
this Committee that Madame Blavatsky should 
not prosecute her defamers in a Court of Law. 


The report of the Committee was unanimously adopted 
by the Convention. This action was received by the 
Indian press and that wedded to sectarian interests with 
prolonged jeers and contumely leveled against H.P.B., 
her followers and her Society. By the great majority 
of public journals and intelligent minds it was consid- 
ered to be the tacit admission by Theosophists that the 
Coulomb charges were true. 

The blow was well-nigh mortal to the body of H.P.B. 
Defenseless and undefended, her life was despaired of 
by her physician. During the succeeding three months 
she was rarely able to leave her bed. Finally, toward 
the end of March, yielding to the solicitations of the few 
who still remained devotedly loyal to her, she prepared 
to leave India and go to Europe. On the 21st of March 
she addressed a formal letter to the General Council, 
once more tendering her resignation as Corresponding 
Secretary, and closing her communication with these 
words: 


I leave with you, one and all, and to every one 
of my friends and sympathizers, my loving fare- 
well. Should this be my last word, I would im- 
plore you all, as you have regard for the wel- 
fare of mankind and your own Karma, to be 
true to the Society and not to permit it to be 
overthrown by the enemy. F'raternally and ever 
yours—in life or death. 

H. P. Buavatsky. 


Her resignation was accepted by the Council with ful- 
some compliments, even as the cowardly action of the 
Convention and its Committee had been accompanied 
with brave words. 

Mr. Richard Hodgson, chosen by the Society for Psy- 


80 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


chical Research to continue in India the investigations 
begun in England, arrived at headquarters in Decem- 
ber, passed three months in pursuing his inquiries and 
returned to England in April, 1885. He was, therefore, 
present in India during all the typhoons of fierce attack 
and all the period of wavering defense. He witnessed 
the bold confidence of the accusers and observed the 
timid, the cautious, the doubting and fearing attitude 
and actions of Col. Oleott and other leading Theosophists. 
Had there been no other influence at work upon his mind, 
these alone, we think, would have been more than ample 
to persuade him that Theosophy, the Theosophical So- 
ciety, the ‘‘Adept Brothers’’ and their teachings were, 
with the phenomena of H.P.B., nothing but a vast fraud 
devised and perpetrated for some secret purpose. 

Mr. Hodgson’s report of his investigations was sub- 
mitted to the Committee of the S.P.R., by them en- 
dorsed, and at the General Meeting of the Society on 
June 24, 1885, Prof. Sidgwick of the Committee read its 
Conclusions. Certain difficulties developing, the ensuing 
six months were spent by Mr. Hodgson in revising and 
re-vamping his report. In the interval it became com- 
mon knowledge that the report of the Committee and 
the 8.P.R. would be entirely adverse to the Theosophical 
phenomena. As in the Coulomb ease, the machinery of 
assault was prepared in secrecy and silence. No oppor- 
tunity was given the Theosophists to inspect Mr. Hodg- 
son’s report, no chance offered for correction, criticism, 
objection, or counter-statement, while during all the long 
interval the most injurious damage was being: inflicted 
through the public knowledge of what the findings would 
be, and while the Theosophists could only await the pro- 
duction of charges of whose essential nature they knew 
nothing and to which, therefore, no reply was pos- 
sible. 

The Conclusions of the Committee and the full text 
of Mr. Hodgson’s report were finally embodied in the 
Proceedings of the S8.P.R., Volume 3, pp. 201-400, issued 
in December, 1885. 


REPORT OF THE S.P.R. 81 


The essential conclusions of the Committee are em- 
bodied in the following extracts: 


After carefully weighing all the evidence be- 
fore them, the Committee unanimously arrived 
at the following conclusions: 

(1) That of the letters put forward by 
Madame Coulomb, all those, at least, which the 
Committee have had the opportunity of them- 
selves examining, and of submitting to the judg- 
ment of experts, are undoubtedly written by 
Madame Blavatsky; and suffice to prove that 
she has been engaged in a long-continued com- 
bination with other persons to produce by ordi- 
nary means a series of apparent marvels for the 
support of the Theosophic movement. 

(2) That, in particular, the Shrine at Adyar, 
through which letters, purporting to come from 
Mahatmas were received, was elaborately ar- 
ranged with a view to the secret insertion of let- 
ters and other objects through a sliding panel 
at the back, and regularly used for this purpose 
by Madame Blavatsky or her agents. 

(3) That there is in consequence a very 
strong general presumption that all the mar- 
velous narratives put forward as evidence of the 
existence and occult power of the Mahatmas 
are to be explained as due either (a) to de- 
liberate deception carried out by or at the in- 
stigation of Madame Blavatsky, or (b) to spon- 
taneous illusion, or hallucination, or unconscious 
misrepresentation or invention on the part of 
the witnesses. 

(4) That after examining Mr. Hodgson’s re- 
port of the results of his personal inquiries, they 
are of the opinion that the testimony to these 
marvels is in no case sufficient, taking amount 
and character together, to resist the force of the 
general presumption above mentioned. 


82 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


Accordingly, they think it would be a waste 
of time to prolong the investigation. 


With reference to Madame Blavatsky herself, the 
Committee say: 


For our own part, we regard her neither as 
the mouthpiece of hidden seers, nor as a mere 
vulgar adventuress; we think that she has 
achieved a title to permanent remembrance as 
one of the most accomplished, ingenious, and in- 
teresting impostors in history. 


The preliminary and final reports of the Committee 
should be taken together. The former is to be found 
only in private collections and a few large libraries, but 
the Proceedings of the Society for Psychical Research, 
Volume 3, may be consulted in nearly every library of 
any consequence in England and America. Every stu- 
dent of Theosophical history ought to read, digest and 
collate this report for himself. Such a careful and first- 
hand examination and comparison will prove to him as 
nothing else can the monstrous injustice and infamy 
of the 8.P.R. investigation and report. 

Misearriages of justice are frequent even in contro- 
versies involving only ordinary physical events, and 
where surrounded and safeguarded by all the jurispru- 
dence, principles and practice embodying the accumu- 
lated experience of the race in the determination of moot 
and disputed issues. How much greater, then, the risk 
of mistaken or false judgment in cases not so protected, 
and where the issues to be decided not only do not lie 
within the general experience of the race, but by most 
men are believed to be impossible and therefore incredi- 
ble; where the very facts themselves to be investigated, 
as well as the laws and principles by virtue of which alone 
their possibility can be assumed, lie outside the knowl- 
edge or experience of the investigators themselves; and 
where it is recognized that the admission or establish- 
ment of these laws, principles, and phenomena will work 


REPORT OF THE S.P.R. 88 


a revolution in every department of human thought and 
action. Bearing these considerations and the concomi- 
tant circumstances in mind the real facts and the real 
issues may be understood from a study of the reports 
of the Society for Psychical Research alone. 

In the first place, the investigation was entirely ex 
parte. The Committee laid out its own course of pro- 
cedure, determined its own basis, admitted what it chose, 
rejected what it chose, reported what it chose of the 
evidence—subject to no supervision, no correction, no 
safeguards to insure impartiality, or afford redress if 
bias were exercised. Of its own motion and decision it 
constituted itself court, judge, and jury; at its pleasure 
it finally took upon itself the role of prosecutor without 
allowing or permitting to those it thus constituted de- 
fendants to its proceedings any right of cross-examina- 
tion or rebuttal. That which began ostensibly as a mere 
inquiry into the evidences available concerning the The- 
osophical phenomena degenerated into a criminal prose- 
eution, in which a verdict of ‘‘guilty’’ was pronounced 
upon H. P. Blavatsky—without a hearing, without ap- 
peal, without recourse for the victim. Had the Com- 
mittee been a duly and legally constituted Court, its pro- 
cedure would have been without a parallel in English 
history save in the ‘‘bloody assizes’’ of the infamous 
Jeffreys. 

But in fact the Committee was that of a rival society 
whose objects, methods, and purposes were diametrically 
opposed to the objects and principles proclaimed by 
H. P. Blavatsky and the Theosophical Society for ten 
years preceding the investigation. The Society for Psy- 
chical Research was interested in phenomena solely and 
only as phenomena; was moved by mere scientific curi- 
osity. It specifically disclaimed any interest in phil- 
osophical research, any concern in Occult laws, any regard 
for the moral factor, in its equations. The Theosophi- 
cal Society and H.P.B., on the contrary, specifically 
avowed the primary Object of its existence was the 
moral factor of Universal Brotherhood, its second 
Object the serious study and comparison of religions and 


84 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


philosophies, and its third object the investigation of 
laws and powers as yet unexplained and misunderstood ; 
not phenomena at all, save as these might be incidental 
and illustrative. 

These differences were recognized by the Committee. 
The preliminary report says: 


The difference between The Theosuphical So- 
ciety and the Society for Psychical Research 


is ... almost diametrical. The Society for 
Psychical Research exists merely as a machin- 
ery for investigation. ... The Theosophical 


Society exists mainly to promulgate certain doc- 
trines already formulated, those doctrines being 
supported by phenomena which are avowedly 
intended and adapted rather for the influencing 
of individual minds than for the wholesale in- 
struction of the scientific world. 


What the Committee’s attitude was in regard to the 
moral factor, and its attitude toward the ‘‘certain doc- 
trines already formulated’’ for the promulgation of 
which the Theosophical Society ‘‘mainly exists’’ are 
shown by its own reports. In the preliminary report 
the statement is made, ‘‘The Theosophical Society was 
founded .. . for certain philanthropic and literary pur- 
poses, with which we are not now concerned.’’ In the 
final report the statement is made: ‘‘The Theosophical 
Society was founded ostensibly for certain philanthropic 
and literary purposes . .. with these doctrines (or so- 
called ‘Wisdom-Religion’) the Committee have, of course, 
no concern.’’ 

It should be understood in connection with the use 
of the word ‘‘ostensibly’’ above, that not a shred of evi- 
dence is introduced or claimed to be introduced that the 
Theosophical Society ever had any other objects than 
its proclaimed ones. 

The Committee took enough note of the Theosophical 
doctrines to recognize at the beginning their enormous 
import: 


REPORT OF THE S.P.R. 85 


The teaching ... comprises a cosmogony, a 
philosophy, a religion. With the value of this 
teaching per se we are not at present concerned. 
But IT IS OBVIOUS THAT WERE IT WIDELY ACCEPTED 
A GREAT CHANGE WOULD BE INDUCED IN HUMAN 
THOUGHT IN ALMOST EVERY DEPARTMENT. ‘T'O TAKE 
ONE POINT ONLY, THE SPIRITUAL AND INTELLECTUAL 
RELATIONSHIP OF Hast TO WEST WOULD BE FOR THE 
TIME IN GREAT MEASURE REVERSED. ‘‘ Hix ORIENTE 
LUX’’ WOULD BE MORE THAN A METAPHOR AND A 
MEMORY; IT WOULD BE THE EXPRESSION OF ACTUAL 
CONTEMPORARY FACT. 


Why was the Committee ‘‘not concerned in the value 
of this teaching?’’ Was it because the West or the 
Committee already possessed abundant knowledge as to 
the existence of superphysical phenomena and the laws 
and processes by which such phenomena are produced? 
Here is what was proclaimed in the prospectus of the 
S.P.R. in 1882: 


The founders of this Society fully recognize 
the exceptional difficulties which surround this 
branch of research; but they nevertheless hope 
that by patient and systematic effort some re- 
sults of permanent value may be attained. 


And the Committee itself admits in the preliminary re- 
port that the evidence for these phenomena ‘‘is of a 
kind which it is peculiarly difficult to disentangle or to 
evaluate. The claims advanced are so enormous, and 
the lines of testimony converge and inosculate in a man- 
ner so perplexing that it is almost equally hard to say 
what statements are to be accepted, and what infer- 
ences as to other statements are to be drawn from the 
acceptance of any.”’ 

To have concerned itself seriously with Madame Bla- 
vatsky’s teachings, to have investigated and studied the 
principles and processes she inculeated would have called 
for a self-sacrificing devotion that no member of the 


86 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


Committee had any zest for. There was advertising 
value in ‘‘investigating’’ H.P.B. and her phenomena; 
immediate and safe profit and advantage in arguing such 
opinions and speculations as accorded with their own 
preconceptions and theories and not in direct opposition 
to the ‘‘cosmogony, philosophy and religion’’ of the 
times, nor counter to prevailing ideas of the complete 
superiority of ‘‘the spiritual and intellectual relation- 
ship’’ of the West to the East. The Committee had no 
appetite in a direction that mght result in making ‘‘ex 
oriente lux’? something more than ‘‘a metaphor and a 
memory.’’ What other rational inferences can be drawn 
from the Committee’s own statements? 

Realizing that the whole investigation was ez parte, 
and a farce as well, because it refused to enter into any 
study of the stated principles under which the phenomena 
were possible, the next question is concerned with the 
competency of the Committee to inquire into the The- 
osophical phenomena or weigh the value of the evidence 
amassed. 

The whole history of Spiritualistic and allied phe- 
nomena without exception shows that the occurrences are 
mvoluntary on the part of the medium, both as regards 
their production and control, and that their rationale and 
processes are not understood either by mediums or in- 
vestigators. On the other hand, absolutely every iota of 
evidence amassed by the Committee shows that the The- 
osophical phenomena were voluntary,—that is, con- 
sciously produced and consciously controlled by the 
operators, and those operators themselves claimed that 
the explanation of laws and processes could be acquired 
only through the Theosophical teachings. Nevertheless, 
the Committee and Mr. Hodgson steadfastly took the po- 
sition that the Theosophical phenomena were of the same 
character as Spiritualistic manifestations, and were to be 
approached in the same way. Although the phenomena 
were admittedly metaphysical in causation, the Commit- 
tee used only physical means of investigation, and re- 
jected every hypothesis other than physical to explain 
them. Although in the preliminary report it was already 


REPORT OF THE S.P.R. 87 


aware of the Coulomb accusations in regard to phe- 
nomena in India, of the ‘‘ Kiddle incident’’ in connection 
with one of the ‘‘letters’’ in the ‘‘Occult World,’’ and 
of the nature of Mr. Massey’s ‘‘ private evidence’’ in re- 
gard to another ‘‘Occult letter,’’ yet the testimony to nu- 
merous other phenomena was so overwhelming, so un- 
questioned, that the Committee say it is ‘‘impossible to 
avoid one or other of two alternative conclusions :— 
Kither that some of the phenomena recorded are genu- 
ine, or that other persons of good standing in society, 
and with characters to lose, have taken part in delib- 
erate imposture.’’ In the final report not a scintilla of 
evidence can be found to controvert this testimony, nor 
to impeach the ‘‘persons of good standing in society, and 
with characters to lose.’’ They, at least, are not charged 
with having ‘‘taken part in deliberate imposture.’’ 

How, then, does the Committee explain the phenomena 
so overwhelmingly testified to? It says they were due 
‘‘to spontaneous illusion, or hallucination, or unconscious 
misrepresentation or invention on the part of the wit- 
nesses.’’ For this wholesale ‘‘explanation,’’ nota bene, 
not one particle of evidence is introduced or pretended 
to be introduced. It rests unequivocally, nakedly and 
unashamedly on the zpse diait of the Committee; its only 
support their theories and speculations to account for 
phenomena that cannot otherwise be done away with. 
Where then was the ‘‘spontaneous illusion, or hallucina- 
tion, or unconscious misrepresentation or invention’’— 
‘fon the part of the witnesses,’’ or on the part of the 
Committee and Mr. Hodgson? 

It remains to be stated that neither the members of 
the Committee nor Mr. Hodgson were able themselves 
to produce any phenomena, nor were witness of any of 
the Theosophical phenomena. Nor did they claim for 
themselves any knowledge of their own as to how such 
phenomena could or could not be produced. All that 
they had originally set out to do was to secure the testi- 
mony of witnesses who had seen phenomena. The two 
reports show that with the single exception of the ac- 
cusations of the Coulombs not a witness of the more 


88 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


than one hundred whose testimony was obtained, but 
testified unequivocally and positively to the occurrence 
of phenomena under circumstances that for him pre- 
cluded any other conclusions but that the phenomena 
were genuine. So much for the competency of the Com- 
mittee to adjudge the facts as testified to. 

Upon what, then, did the Committee rely for its con- 
clusions? Upon the Coulombs; upon the ‘‘Kiddle inci- 
dent’’; upon Mr. Massey’s ‘‘private evidence’’; upon 
the ‘‘expert opinions’’ of Mr. F. G. Netherclift and Mr. 
Sims on handwritings; most of all on the ‘‘opinions”’ 
of Mr. Hodgson and others. The Coulombs and their 
charges have already been discussed. By their own story 
they wera knaves, cheats, and extortioners, ‘‘accom- 
plices’’? with plainly evident evil motives, whose story 
had no independent corroboration whatever outside the 
suspicions of Mr. Hodgson and others, and which was 
denied point-blank by H.P.B., contradicted point-blank 
by the testimony of scores of actual independent wit- 
nesses and investigators. ‘‘The Kiddle incident’’ has 
been given,’ and whatever opinion may be formed in 
regard to it, there is no evidence whatever of fraud in 
connection with it, or of any bad faith on the part of Mr. 
Sinnett or H.P.B. or any other Theosophist. Mr. Mas- 
sey’s ‘‘private evidence”’ 1s given at p. 397 of the Report 
and anyone who reads it can determine for himself that, 
whatever of the mysterious and the unexplained there 
may be in connection with the matter, there is no eve 
dence whatever of any fraud on H.P.B.’s part. As in 
many, many other cases, something occurred which Mr. 
Massey could not understand; his doubts were aroused; 
H.P.B. denied absolutely any wrong-doing, but refused 
as absolutely to explain the mystery; hence she was 
‘‘onilty of fraud.’’ 

Mr. Hodgson and the Committee reached the con- 
clusion that the ‘‘Mahatma letters’’ to Mr. Sinnett and 
others were in fact written by Madame Blavatsky—a 

conclusion only, be it noted. To fortify this opinion some 
- of the letters were submitted to Mr. Sims of the British 

*See Chapter IV. 


REPORT OF THE S.P.R. 89 


Museum and to Mr. Netherclift, a London handwriting 
expert, along with samples of the writing of H.P.B. 
In the first mstance both Mr. Netherclift and Mr. Sims 
undependently reached the conclusion that the Mahatma 
letters were not written by H.P.B. This is one of the 
‘‘certain difficulties’’ already spoken of as confronting 
Mr. Hodgson and the Committee. For if the Mahatma 
letters were not written by H.P.B., who wrote them? 
After his return to England, therefore, Mr. Hodgson 
found himself in a quandary on this phase of his report. 
He thereupon took the matter up again with the experts, 
and agreeably they reversed their opinion and decided 
that the letters were written by H.P.B.! Incredible as 
this may appear it is the fact as derived from the report 
itself. One who is at all familiar with the course of 
‘fexpert testimony’? as to handwriting knows that, at 
best, such testimony is but opinion, and often erroneous, 
even where not formed to suit the desires of the client. 
An example is furnished of the fallibility of ‘‘expert 
opinion’’ by this very Mr. Netherclift himself, for, a few 
years later, he was called as an expert witness in the 
celebrated case of Charles Stewart Parnell against the 
London Times for libel. In that case Mr. Netherclift 
swore positively that the signature to the famous ‘‘ Pigott 
letters’? was the handwriting of Mr. Parnell. Later on 
in the case Pigott himself confessed in open court that 
he had forged the signatures. 

The earliest known Mahatma letter was one handed 
to Madame Fadeef, aunt of H.P.B. and widow of a 
well-known Russian General, in 1870, long before H.P.B. 
was known in the world, and long before the formation 
of the Theosophical Society. According to the written 
testimony of Madame Fadeef, whose good character no 
one questioned, the letter was handed to her in Russia 
by an Oriental who vanished before her eyes. She stated 
that, at the time, H.P.B. had been absent for years, no 
one of the family knew of her whereabouts, all their in- 
quiries had come to naught, and they were ready to be- 
lieve her dead when the letter relieved their anxieties by 
saying that she was in the care of the Mahatmas and 


90 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


would rejoin her family within eighteen months. With 
regard to this first Mahatmic letter, which is given in 
the preliminary report, Prof. F. W. H. Myers, the leading 
member of the Committee, himself certified as follows: 
“‘T have seen this letter, which certainly appears to be 
im the K. H. (Mahatma) handwriting —F. W. H. M.’’ 
Can anyone suppose that this Mahatma letter, written 
to relieve the pressing anxieties of loved and loving rela- 
tives, was ‘‘due to deliberate deception carried out by 
or at the instigation of Madame Blavatsky?’’ If not, 
how account for it and the other Mahatma letters being 
im the same handwriting? 

Remains one more question for consideration: that of 
the ‘‘moral factor’? of motive. The influences affecting 
the motives and conduct of the Committee, Mr. Hodgson, 
the Coulombs and others, have been indicated. In every 
case preconceptions, ignorance of Occult laws and proc- 
esses; mysterious circumstances which they could not 
understand and which H.P.B. refused to elucidate; the 
baffling nature of the phenomena; self-interest; popu- 
lar and sectarian pressures and prejudices—all com- 
bined to create uncertainties, doubts, suspicions, con- 
jectures and inferences of fraud and deception. The 
evidence, that which was actually testified to, was over- 
whelmingly in support of the genuineness of the 
phenomena. 

The motives of the witnesses are equally evident; they 
had nothing whatever to gain and everything to lose by 
their testimony. They were affirming the genuineness 
and reality of phenomena in which nine-tenths of hu- 
manity disbelieves, and which, if proved and accepted, 
would upset and destroy cherished and almost univer- 
sally prevailing ideas in religion, science, and ‘‘almost 
every department of human thought and action.’’ The 
most that could have been expected from the Committee 
in such circumstances was such a conclusion as that of 
the London Dialectical Society on the Spiritualistic phe- 
nomena. But the Theosophical principles and phenomena 
reach far deeper into the foundations of human con- 
sciousness. Unlike the Spiritualist manifestations and 


REPORT OF THE S.P.R. 91 


theories, there is no room for reconciliation or compro- 
mise between Theosophical teachings and phenomena and 
the ‘‘forces of reaction,’’ the established interests in 
church and science and human conduct. Bitter as was 
the opposition to Darwinism, malevolent as was the an- 
tagonism to the spread of Spiritualism and to such in- 
vestigators of it as Prof. Crookes, these were as noth- 
ing to the fear and hatred inspired by H.P.B., her 
teachings and her phenomena. In the one case com- 
promise, a middle ground, was possible. In her case it 
was instinctively recognized by all that no compromise 
was possible. Hence, the conclusions of the Committee 
were in fact foregone from the beginning. 

In no one thing, perhaps, is the weakness of the S.P.R. 
investigation more fatally self-betraying than in the mo- 
tives they assign to account for the ‘‘long-continued 
combination and deliberate deception instigated and car- 
ried out by Madame Blavatsky.’’ That anyone, let alone 
a woman, should for ten or more years make endless 
personal sacrifices of effort, time, money, health, and 
reputation in three continents, merely to deceive those 
who trusted her, with no possible benefit to herself; 
should succeed in so deceiving hundreds of the most in- 
telligent men and women of many races that they were 
convinced of the reality of her powers, her teachings, her 
mission as well as her phenomena, only to be unmasked 
by a boy of twenty-three who, by interviewing some of 
the witnesses and hearing their stories, is able infallibly 
to see what they could not see, is able to suspect what 
they could find no occasion for suspecting, is able to de- 
tect a sufficient motive for inspiring H.P.B. to the most 
monumental career of chicanery in all history—this is 
what one has to swallow in order to attach credibility 
to the elaborate tissue of conjecture and suspicion woven 
by Mr. Hodgson to offset the solid weight of testimony 
that the phenomena were genuine. 

‘‘No crime without a motive.’’ What, then, was the 
motive attributed’ by Mr. Hodgson and the Commit- 
tee to make credible their conclusion that she was ‘‘one 
of the most accomplished, ingenious, and interesting im- 


92 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


postors in history?’’ She was a Russian spy, and her mo- 
tive was to destroy British rule m India! 

It is interesting to observe the successive steps of 
the Committee’s struggle with this question of the possi- 
ble motive of H.P.B. In the preliminary report the 
Committee raises the question of ‘‘all the commoner and 
baser motives to fraud or exaggeration,’’ and dismisses 
them: ‘‘we may say at once that no trustworthy evi- 
dence supporting such a view has been brought under our 
notice.’’ Next the Committee considers the possibility of 
‘‘oood’’ motives for bad conduct: ‘‘Now we know, im- 
deed, that the suspcions which the Anglo-Indian au- 
thorities at first entertained as to the political objects 
of the Theosophical Society have been abandoned as 
groundless.’’? Next the Committee say, ‘‘But we can 
wmagine schemes and intentions of a patriotic kind... 
we must be on our guard against men’s highest instincts 
quite as much as their lowest.”’ 

In the final report Mr. Hodgson goes over the grounds 
of possible motives: ‘‘The question which will now in- 
evitably arise is—what has induced Madame Blavatsky 
to live so many laborious days im such a fantastic work 
of wmposture? . .. I should consider this Report incom- 
plete unless I suggest what I myself believe to be an ade- 
quate explanation of her ten years’ toil on behalf of the 
Theosophical Socrety.”’ 

Was it egotism? ‘‘A closer knowledge of her character 
would show such a supposition to be quite untenable.”’ 

Was she a plain, unvarnished fraud? ‘‘She is, indeed, 
a rare psychological study, almost as rare as a ‘Ma- 
hatma’! She was terrible exceedingly when she ea- 
pressed her overpowermg thought that perhaps her 
‘twenty years’ ’ work might be spoiled through Madame 
Coulomb.’ | 

Was it religious mania, a morbid yearning for no- 
toriety? ‘‘I must confess that the problem of her mo- 
tives .. . caused me no little perplexity. . . . The sordid 
motive of pecuniary gain would be a solution still less 
satisfactory than the hypothesis of religious mania. . . . 


REPORT OF THE S.P.R. 93 


But even ths hypothesis I was unable to adopt, and 
reconcile with my understanding of her character.’’ 

What, then, was the compelling motive that induced 
the labors of a Hercules, the sacrifices of a Christ, to 
carry on a career of deception worthy of the Prince of 
Deceivers himself? ‘‘At last a casual conversation 
opened my eyes. . . . I cannot profess, myself, after my 
personal experiences with Madame Blavatsky, to feel 
much doubt that her real object has been the furtherance 
of Russian interests. .. . I suggest it here only as a sup- 
position which appears best to cover the known inci- 
dents of her career during the past 13 or 14 years.’’ 

H. P. Blavatsky lived and-died a martyr, physically, 
mentally, and in all that men hold dear; she forsook 
relatives, friends, ease and high social standing, be- 
came an expatriate and naturalized citizen of an alien 
land on the other side of the globe; she founded a 
Society to which she gave unremitting and unthanked 
devotion; she wrote ‘‘Isis Unveiled,’’ the ‘‘Secret Doc- 
trine,’’ the ‘‘Voice of the Silence,’’ all of which were 
proscribed in Russia; she became a veritable Wander- 
ing Jew devoted to the propagation of teachings and 
ideas hateful to the world of ‘‘reactionary forces’’; she 
eschewed all concern with political objects of any kind, 
all attachment to ‘‘race, creed, sex, caste, or color,’’ and 
her lifeblood formed and sustained a Society sworn to 
the same abstentions; she lived and she died in poverty— 
slandered, calumniated, betrayed by followers and foes 
alike; misunderstood by all; she never, from 1873 to the 
day of her death, set foot on Russian soil, an exile from 
family and country. 

Why did she do these things? ‘‘In furtherance of 
Russian interests!”’ 


CHAPTER VII 
DIVISIONS AMONG THEOSOPHISTS—NEW PUBLICATIONS 


Ir will easily be understood that the opening of the 
year 1885 found the Theosophists in India in the utmost 
disorder and disarray—assailed on all sides from with- 
out by triumphant enemies; prey to confusion and re 
criminations within. 

H.P.B. lay physically ill, wavering between life and 
death. Col. Olcott, availing himself of an invitation 
previously extended to him in recognition of his work 
for the revival of Buddhism, left almost immediately 
for a visit to the Burmese capital, Mandalay. On his 
arrival at Rangoon, en route to the court of Theebaw 
III, he was met by the leading Buddhist priests and 
dignitaries. Here he was cordially received and re- 
mained for a considerable time, holding conferences, 
giving lectures, and regaining his spirits in an atmos- 
phere removed from the depressing situation at head- 
quarters. Just as he was on the point of proceeding to 
Mandalay he received a telegram from Damodar urging 
his immediate return to India because of the apparently 
fatal turn in the condition of H.P.B. 

It can searcely be doubted that Col. Oleott’s return 
to headquarters was impelled by what were to him still 
more urgent reasons, for he was at the same time in re- 
ceipt of advices from his Hindu intimates that affairs 
were fast becoming desperate. He was advised that 
many Lodges were lapsing into dormancy, others threat- 
ening to dissolve; his General Council divided into two 
camps, with those opposed to him in the ascendant. The 
facts appear to have been that in addition to those few 
who had remained steadfastly loyal to H.P.B., numer- 
ous other European and some Hindu members had, by 

94 


DIVISIONS AMONG THEOSOPHISTS 95 


reaction, felt to some extent the monstrous injustice done 
H.P.B. and were in the mood to make the President- 
Founder the scapegoat for the timidity and the luke- 
warmness of all. The sense of present and impending 
loss caused many to realize the fatal error of deserting 
H.P.B. and all knew that the Convention’s action was 
directly due to the sanction of Col. Olcott. A determined 
movement had gained headway to limit his autocratic 
control and direction of the society’s affairs, by making 
the Council an actual executive and responsible govern- 
ing body, instead of as hitherto the mere cloak and in- 
strument of the President’s wishes. This spontaneous 
feeling was placed before H.P.B., and she had given her 
signature of approval in the followmg words: ‘‘Be- 
heving that this new arrangement is necessary for the 
welfare of the Society, I approve of it, so far as I am 
concerned.”’ 

Colonel Oleott, who had been foremost in the belief 
that it was necessary to abandon H.P.B. ‘‘for the honor 
of the Society’’ and to preserve it from shafts aimed 
at it through H.P.B., now felt himself stung to the 
quick by these evidences of defection and disaffection 
on the part of the members towards himself. After con- 
sultation with his friends he went straight to the mor- 
tally stricken H.P.B., as all thought her, and besought 
her to restore him to his former status and function. 
Clouded and piecemeal as are the published fragments 
of information concerning the events of those trying 
months, certain facts seem clear in the light of subse- 
quent history. It would appear that Col. Olcott recog- 
nized and admitted his faults, promised to take a more 
loyal and consistent course in the future, and agreed to 
pursue a less arbitrary policy in his management of the 
Society. Knowing that his devotion to the well-being of 
the Society was constant and unswerving, whatever his 
mistakes due to his vanity and self-sufficiency, and al- 
ways tolerant and generous fo the last degree toward 
friend or foe, it is clear that H.P.B. accepted his re- 
pentance and professions and once more lent him her 
powerful protection. She withdrew her authorization of 


96 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


the proposed changes, smoothed out the personal feelings 
aroused between Col. Olcott and his partisans and those 
opposed to his rulership, and left to him to make as of 
his own volition and accord the needful modifications of 
policy and conduct. This is the secret of the various 
notices in the ‘‘Supplement’’ to The Theosophist for 
May, 1885, concerning the ‘‘Formation of an Hixecutive 
Committee,’’ the ‘‘Special Notification,’’ and the ‘‘Spe- 
cial Orders of 1885.’’ Likewise in these events will be 
found the explanation of Col. Olcott’s visit to Mr. Hodg- 
son and his effort to get that gentleman to take a more 
impartial if not more friendly attitude toward the The- 
osophical evidences and explanations connected with the 
phenomena, which Mr. Hodgson was investigating almost 
entirely from the standpoint of the Coulombs and the 
missionaries. Sincere and well-intentioned as this move 
of Col. Oleott’s undoubtedly was, it could but serve, in 
view of all the circumstances, to increase and confirm 
the already acute suspicions of Mr. Hodgson; and this, 
as we have seen, is what in fact occurred. Col. Olcott 
also, in his new zeal, made strenuous and partly success- 
ful efforts to procure the writing and publication of arti- 
cles favorable to H.P.B. and her phenomena in various 
Indian papers. 

But knowing well the weaknesses as well as the vir- 
tues of her colleague, H.P.B. was under no illusions as 
to the final outcome. She knew Col. Olcott’s self-esteem, 
his doubts, jealousies and suspicions; knew only too well 
the personal ambitions, rivalries and animosities with 
which the headquarters were rife. As appeared many 
years later, she addressed on April 11, 1885, a letter to 
Col. Olcott, in which she told him that no parole loyalty 
would suffice to repair the mischief that had been done; 
that she had willingly borne and would continue to bear 
in her own person the evil Karma engendered by him 
and by the Society, but that in deserting her the Society 
and its leaders were in fact deserting the Masters whose 
Agent she was; that she had done her best for them all, 
but that she could not avoid for them the harvest of 
their own mistakes and ingratitude. 


DIVISIONS AMONG THEOSOPHISTS 97 


This letter was written by H.P.B. from Aden, after 
she had left India. Colonel Olcott suppressed this letter 
and in all his voluminous writings never referred to it. 
It was preceded by her formal letter of March 21, ad- 
dressed to the General Council, submitting her resigna- 
tion, which was accepted. The published inter-change 
assigned the illness of H.P.B. as the cause of her sev- 
erance of relations officially with the Society in India, 
and the same cause was given for her departure. This 
was all true but the deeper reason, the Occult basis, was 
the desertion by Col. Oleott and his associates of the 
paramount objectives of her Masters. This is shown by 
the acceptance of her resignation; by the letter of April 
11, 1885, as mentioned; by the report of a conversation 
with one of the Mahatmas,! which report was also sup- 
pressed by Col. Olcott and never referred to by him, 
though partially coming to hight many years later; and 
by Col. Olcott’s course immediately following the resig- 
nation and departure of H.P.B. He at once set actively 
to work to make the Society independent of H.P.B. 
The June number of The Theosophist was prefaced at 
the head of the text with an italic insert accompanied by 
a ‘‘printer’s hand’’ and reading as follows: 


The Theosophical Society, as such, is not re- 
sponsible for any opmmion or declaration m this 
or any other Journal, by whomsoever expressed, 
unless contaaned wm an official document. — 


In the same (June) number Col. Olcott published over 
his signature a leading editorial on ‘‘Infallibility,’’ de- 
voted to a disclaimer of any reliance by the Society on 
anyone’s assumed powers, knowledge, or status, or that 
such reliance was in any way necessary for the Society’s 
success or existence. This was all aimed at H.P.B. 
and her status as Agent of the Masters supposed to be 
behind the Theosophical Movement and the Theosophical 
Society. Indirectly, it was at the same time an assertion 


*Some extracts from this letter and from the conversation mentioned are 
given in The Theosophist for October, 1907, pp. 9, 10, and 78. 


98 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


of his own pre-eminence as the Head of the Society, 
since the only official documents were those issued by 
himself as President-Founder, or at his instructions. 

Damodar K. Mavalankar, next to H.P.B., the most 
loved and the most envied of the Theosophists in 
India, and, aside from her, the only one of them gen- 
erally known to be in constant active touch with the 
Masters, had been her faithful and devoted servant and 
indefatigable worker in the Cause. Much of her corre- 
spondence throughout the world had been carried on by 
him under her directions; visiting chelas at headquar- 
ters were largely cared for by him; the chief burden of 
the getting out of The Theosophist fell upon his shoul- 
ders; and he had shared with her the stigma of the 
Coulomb charges and Mr. Hodgson’s investigating suspi- 
cions. He remained at Adyar for some time after the 
departure of H.P.B., doing what could be done for the 
few who possessed the elements of real loyalty and 
steadfastness. Towards the latter half of the year he 
left headquarters on a ‘‘pilgrimage,’’ and was last pub- 
licly heard of near the Thibetan frontiers. By many 
he was thought to have perished of exposure, but there 
ean be little doubt, from hints afterwards given by 
H.P.B. and Mr. Judge, that in fact he was called by 
the Masters into Their direct service and company. He 
thus received the reward of his undying devotion and 
his uncomplaining endurance of the tribulations conse- 
quent upon his human defects and mistakes. Of him 
the Master K. H. wrote, ‘‘Before he could ‘stand in the 
presence of the Masters’ he had to undergo the severest 
trials that a neophyte ever passed through.’’ Damodar 
had first met H.P.B. early in 1879, had immediately 
forsaken everything that men hold dear to become her 
faithful servant and chela, and in the ensuing years of 
his probation had remained steadfastly loyal to her and 
her mission ‘‘without variableness or the shadow of 
turning.’’ Of his subsequent fortunes, his present status, 
his future relations with the Theosophical Movement, the 
story remains untold; one of the unwritten chapters of 
the Second Section. 


DIVISIONS AMONG THEOSOPHISTS 99 


As the months went by it began to be apparent that 
the life of the Society in India could not be maintained 
by its venous circulation alone. The contents of The 
Theosophist deteriorated in quality; the circulation of 
the magazine diminished; numerous branches ceased to 
exist except on paper, the membership fell off in others; 
contributions and dues lessened; the Society was fast 
falling into mere discussion of the endless metaphysics 
of Hindu faiths and philosophies. On the other hand 
news began to permeate the Indian contingent that 
H.P.B. was being visited in her European retirement 
by staunch friends, corresponded with by an ever-increas- 
ing number of inquirers, supported by the adherence of 
new and notable persons. Colonel Olcott, who had ever 
a weakness for the acquaintance of the great and the 
near-great, began to take stock of the fortunes of war. 
Nor can it, we think, be doubted that as time went on, as 
her absence and his sense of loss of the old daily in- 
timacy, the old strong and unfailing guidance of the 
‘‘lion of the Punjab’’ grew more keen; as the truer and 
nobler side of his nature had opportunity to reassert 
itself—that side of his nature which had inspired him 
in the beginning to do as Damodar had done, to give 
up all to follow her in her unknown path—it cannot be 
doubted, we think, that Col. Olcott repented him of the 
mistakes and lukewarmness of the recent years, and en- 
deavored so far as was in his power, short of a public 
disavowal of his erroneous course, to remedy his mis- 
takes. And in this he was strengthened by the treatment 
accorded him by H.P.B. She chided him as little as 
might be; she continued unfailingly to send him articles 
for insertion in The Theosophist; she made a will be- 
queathing to him her entire interest in the magazine and 
making over its entire revenue to him; she encouraged 
by every means in her power every good effort, every 
good impulse that arose from him; she laughed at her 
own miseries and misfortunes, and made light of all 
obstacles in the way. 

Colonel Olcott was supported and encouraged also by 
the good-will of those near at hand who had remained 


100 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


steadfast in devotion to H.P.B. without withdrawing 
their countenance from him. All these factors had their 
compelling influence, and at the Indian Convention at 
the close of 1885 his public Address as President to the 
assembled delegates and visitors was marked by the ex- 
pression of strong feeling and sincere declarations in 
respect to H.P.B. In this mood he was willing to re- 
tire as President to promote the solidarity and renewed 
life of the Society. Says the Report of the Convention 
as published in the ‘‘Supplement’’ to The Theosophist 
for January, 1886: 


The President being called away temporarily 
on business, and Major-General Morgan occupy- 
ing the Chair, the following resolutions... 
were carried by acclamation with great en- 
thusiasm: 

Resolved, That in the event of the health of 
Madame H. P. Blavatsky being sufficiently re- 
stored, she be requested to resume the office 
which she has relinquished. 

Resolved, That the charges brought against 
Madame Blavatsky by her enemies have not been 
proven, and that our affection and respect for 
her continue unabated. 

Whereas the Convention has heard with great 
sorrow from the lips of the President-Founder, 
Col. H. 8. Olcott, the expression of his desire to 
retire to private life on account of his compe- 
tency for his present duty being questioned by 
some, the Convention unanimously 

Resolve: (1) That the President-Founder has 
by his unremitting zeal, self-sacrifices, courage, 
industry, virtuous life and intelligence, won the 
confidence of members of the Society and en- 
deared himself to them throughout the world; 
and (2) that as this Convention cannot for one 
moment entertain the thought of his retiring 
from the Society which he has done so much to 
build up, and has conducted safely through vari- 


DIVISIONS AMONG THEOSOPHISTS 101 


ous perils by his prudence and practical wisdom, 
they request him to continue his invaluable serv- 
ices to the Society to the last. 


This approach to real union, this united aim, broth- 
erly feeling, and mutual support in the spirit of. the 
First Object, as manifested by the Convention, had 
its immediate beneficial effect, and for the ensuing three 
years the Society in India shared in the prosperity of 
the Movement throughout the world—the rising tide 
after the S.P.R., attempt to wreck the Society. It is 
worth while for students to note that every storm that 
ever raged about the Society had its inception in neglect 
of the First Object and its practical application, brotherly 
loyalty and devotion; every recovery from wounds and 
losses was due to a return to the fundamental basis of 
the Society and the fundamental precept of the Second 
Section—instant readiness to ‘‘defend the life or honour 
of a brother Theosophist even at the risk of their own 
lives.’’ Had this been borne in mind by those who were 
‘‘quick to doubt and despair, who had worked for them- 
selves and not for the Cause,’’ had the consistent exam- 
ple set, no less than the precepts given, by H.P.B. been 
made the rule of action by those responsible for the policy 
and conduct of the Third Section—the Theosophical So- 
ciety proper—the ‘‘solidarity in the ranks’’ of the Society 
would not only ‘‘have enabled it to resist all external 
attacks, but also have made it possible for greater, wider, 
and more tangible help to have been given it’’ by the 
First and Second Sections, ‘‘who are always ready to 
give help when we are fit to receive it.”’ 

H. P. Blavatsky left the headquarters and sailed from 
India at the beginning of April, 1885. Such was her 
physical condition that she had to be carried on board 
the vessel. Accompanied by her physician and an at- 
tendant she voyaged to Naples, Italy, where she re- 
mained for some months in sickness, poverty, and isola- 
tion. From there she removed in the summer to Wiirz- 
burg, Germany, where she was visited and sustained by 
the devoted Gebhards of Elberfeld. Thither also came 


102 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


the Countess Wachtmeister, widow of the late Swedish 
Ambassador to England. Countess Wachtmeister was 
an English woman by birth, a natural psychic who had 
been interested in Spiritualism and then in the The- 
osophical phenomena. She had become a member of 
the London Lodge and had met H.P.B. at London the 
year before. Hearing of the distress into which H.P.B. 
was plunged, and convinced by her own experiences that 
the phenomena of H.P.B. were genuine, the Countess 
came from Sweden to visit her. What she saw and felt 
caused her to remain, and from then onwards the Countess 
gave herself up to the service of H.P.B., as friend, as 
companion, as amanuensis, as voluntary servant. To 
Wurzburg came also friends and correspondents of Dr. 
Franz Hartmann, whose experience and intuition of the 
real nature of H.P.B. were always strong enough to 
keep him loyal despite the frictions of personalities be- 
tween himself and others. Here came Dr. Hubbe-Schlei- 
den, the noted German savant, who had met H.P.B. 
the year before at the Gebhards and who, like Dr. Hart- 
mann, had absorbed enough of her philosophy to keep 
him energized for the remainder of his life in channels 
akin to the work of the Theosophical Movement. Came 
also the Russian writer, Solovyoff the younger, who had 
met H.P.B. in Paris the year before, and whose evil 
Karma it was subsequently to become tool and victim 
of the forces opposed to her and her work. During her 
Wurzburg residence H.P.B. was also visited by Mr. 
and Mrs. Sinnett and others from London and Paris. 
Here also came many others moved by sympathy, by 
gratitude, by curiosity, by all the motives that affect 
mankind. 

H.P.B. lived at Wirzbure for nearly a year, alter- 
nating between long relapses and brief partial recoveries. 
During the whole period her labors never abated. Arti- 
cles for The Theosophist, miscellaneous contributions to 
Russian periodicals for her daily bread, and a corre- 
spondence that daily increased, kept her busy. Many 
of her letters at this period were written by her volun- 
teer helpers at her dictation or direction. During the 


DIVISIONS AMONG THEOSOPHISTS 103 


whole period, also, she was occupied with the vast bur- 
den of the composition of the ‘‘Secret Doctrine.’’ 

In May, 1886, her medical advisers once more insisted 
on a change of climate and surroundings if her life were 
to be prolonged. Accordingly, she removed to Ostend, 
Belgium, and here she lived in constantly increasing toil 
and turmoil. Dr. Anna Bonus Kingsford and her asso- 
ciate, Mr. EK. Maitland, visited her here, and here came 
many Knglish and French Theosophists for making or 
renewing personal touch with her. Late in the winter 
and in the early spring of 1887, the physical state of 
H.P.B. once more became so desperate that her life 
was despaired of. Miss Francesca Arundale, Miss Kis- 
lingbury, the two Keightleys, Archibald and Bertram, 
and other London Theosophists were anxious for her 
to remove to England where she could be better cared 
for. Madame Gebhard and Dr. Ashton Ellis, a young 
London physician and member of the London Lodge, 
were telegraphed for by Countess Wachtmeister. They 
came in all haste and were assiduous in their ministra- 
tions. This unstinted devotion once more pulled H.P.B. 
through the crisis. The Keightleys came over and urged 
the necessities of the English Theosophists for her pres- 
ence among them. Yielding to the loving solicitations of 
these devoted friends and followers, the wanderer once 
more took ship, carried on board as before, and, physi- 
cally a helpless and inert mass, was installed in a cottage 
in Norwood, where she passed the summer of 1887. In 
the autumn the house at 17 Lansdowne Road, Holland 
Park, West, was taken by her friends and thither H.P.B. 
was removed to quarters specially prepared for her in 
the midst of an atmosphere of good-will and watchful 
consideration. 

Thus surrounded and sheltered, H.P.B. measurably 
regained strength, though her health never became such 
as to exempt her from continuous physical suffering or 
to enable her to take needful exercise. It is doubtful if 
during the last six years of her life she had a single 
waking hour of complete relaxation, and it is certain that 
she rarely was able to go outside her domicile unaided. 


104 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


Yet these six years were the ones of her stormy career 
most filled, not only with the trials and tribulations inci- 
dent to the many attacks upon her name and fame, not 
only with the press and demands of claimants upon her 
time and attention, not only with the correspondence and 
work of the Theosophical Movement from day to day, but 
they were, as well, the most fruitful of enduring results 
for all mankind. It was during this period that the 
‘‘Secret Doctrine,’’ the ‘‘Key to Theosophy,’’ ‘‘The 
Voice of the Silence,’’ and the ‘‘ Theosophical Glossary”’ 
were written; Lucifer was begun with its first issue dated 
September 15, 1887, and its monthly contents during the 
succeeding years contained a steady stream from the in- 
exhaustible fountain of her wisdom. 

The presence of H.P.B. in Europe resulted from the 
first in a revival of courage, confidence, and action on 
the part of those who had remained steadfast during 
the Coulomb charges, the S.P.R. investigation and re- 
port, and the succeeding blasts in the press. Work began 
in Germany and France with fresh vigor and new Lodges 
were formed in addition to the existing ones. Many new 
Fellows entered the Society, some of them persons of 
considerable reputation in other fields of effort. The 
Sphynx was begun in Germany, Le Lotus in France, and 
the study and discussion of subjects within the lines of 
the Three Objects went on apace. After the removal of 
H.P.B. to England, additional Lodges were established 
in Ireland, Scotland, in the larger cities of England, 
and the Blavatsky Lodge was formed in London. Here 
H.P.B. herself replied to questions on the ‘‘Stanzas’’ 
of the ‘‘Secret Doctrine’’ at a number of sessions. These 
questions and answers were stenographically reported 
and, when revised, were published as ‘‘Transactions 1 
and 2 of the Blavatsky Lodge.’’ 

When the S8.P.R. Proceedings, Volume 3, were pub- 
lished late in 1885, Mr. Sinnett, then President of the 
London Lodge, wrote a pamphlet ‘‘Reply’’ which was 
published early in 1886. He also wrote a strong letter 
to Light, the leading Spiritualist publication in England. 
His clear statements and wide repute went far to stem 


DIVISIONS AMONG THEOSOPHISTS 105 


the unfavorable tide of press comment consequent on the 
S.P.R. report. In the summer of 1886 his ‘‘Incidents 
in the Life of Madame Blavatsky’’ was published by 
Redway. This book, with its partial disclosures of per- 
sonal matters, its anecdotes and narratives of the most 
astonishing phenomena, its mysterious hiatuses, its per- 
vading atmosphere of sincerity, candor, and common 
sense in the midst of the well-nigh incredible marvels 
recited, and above all, with its pictures of the living 
H.P.B. as a most fascinating and human being’ steadily 
giving herself, soul, mind, and heart to a cause sacred to 
her; a good-natured, unrevengeful fighter undismayed 
and undaunted by the mountains of hatred and calumny 
heaped upon her—this book created a profound impres- 
sion far and wide, and aroused a sympathy for this mar- 
tyr to her convictions, and an interest in her teachings, 
that brought many into the ranks of the Society, and 
turned to good account the adverse findings of the 
Ala at 

In the spring of 1885 was published ‘‘Light on the 
Path, written down by M. C.’’ The initials stood for 
Mabel Collins, niece of the celebrated novelist. Mabel 
Collins was a psychic, a member of the London Lodge, 
and herself a novelist. ‘‘Light on the Path’’ was ‘‘writ- 
ten down’’ by its sponsor without previous knowledge 
or study of Eastern teachings. As originally published 
it was but a small pamphlet without the ‘‘Comments’’ 
subsequently published in Lucifer and incorporated in 
most of the later editions of ‘‘Light on the Path.’’ The 
work created a veritable sensation and has probably been 
more widely circulated than any other single Theosophi- 
eal publication. Its companion books, ‘‘The Idyll of the 
White Lotus,’’ and ‘‘Through the Gates of Gold,’’ have 
also been very widely read and studied. Many stories 
have been told, both by the reputed author and others, re- 
garding the actual source of these writings. These will 
be discussed in their proper place.’ 

‘‘Wive Years of Theosophy,’’ made up of articles re- 
printed from the first five volumes of The Theosophist, 

7See Chapter XIII. 


106 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


and ‘‘Man—Fragments of Forgotten History,’’ by 
‘Two Chelas of the Theosophical Society,’’ were issued 
in 1885 by Reeves & Turner, London, and both passed 
through several editions. The ‘‘Two Chelas”’ are stated 
by Miss Francesca Arundale to have been Mohini M. 
Chatterji and Mrs. L. C. Holloway (The Theosoplust, 
October, 1917). 

Contemporaneously with the revival in India and the 
renaissance in Europe and England, the spiral upward 
path of the Movement produced a fresh and higher ‘im- 
pulsion in the United States. Where in India the re- 
strictions were such that practically the whole force of 
the Movement took the line of the Second Object, and 
in England and on the Continent the environment of 
thought and action naturally limited the major atten- 
tion to the line of the Third Object, in America the chief 
stress from the beginning of the second decade was upon 
the great First Object. 

In India the study and discussion of comparative re- 
ligion and philosophy was the only possible open door 
to any arousal of interest among the members of the 
hitherto rigidly exclusive sects and castes. In England 
and Europe, given over to Christian sectarianism, scien- 
tific materialism, and Spiritualism, and with the binding 
fetters of caste and class exclusiveness hardly less rigid 
than in India, only the neutral ground of interest af- 
forded by the Third Object gave a field in which to sow 
the seed of the Theosophical teachings. In America the 
Second and Third Objects had formed the magnet for 
the original organization and membership of the Society, 
and had been used by H.P.B. as the raison d’étre for 
the writing and publication of ‘‘Isis Unveiled.’’ Not till 
the second decade of the Society opened was it possible 
to re-start the work of the Movement in its direct public 
channel, the Society, on the real line, that of the First 
Object. The beginning of this was in the United States, 
at New York, in the Aryan Theosophical Society, the re- 
organization and re-incarnation of the parent Society of 
1875. The presiding genius of the Aryan Society, and 
of the work of the Movement, esoteric and exoteric, in 


DIVISIONS AMONG THEOSOPHISTS 107 


the United States was Mr. William Q. Judge. With the 
second decade the work fell into its three streams with 
Mr. Judge in America, H.P.B. in Europe, and Col. 
Oleott in India. As we shall all too soon see, that which 
was intended to be the three great natural branches of 
the work of the Society, metaphysically as well as geo- 
graphically, broke into alien organizations as well as 
alien purposes. 

Mr. Judge had kept up an unbroken communion with 
H.P.B. and an unbroken accord with Col. Olcott during 
all the years from the time of the separation of the three 
Founders at the close of the year 1878 when H.P.B. 
and Col. Olcott departed for India. In the early sum- 
mer of 1884 he had gone to France and passed some time 
with H.P.B., proceeded thence to India where he formed 
acquaintance with the leading Hindu members, completed 
his touch with Damodar and others connected with 
the First and Second Sections, and had returned to 
America near the close of the year. During the year 
1885 he was busied with the rejuvenation of the Aryan 
Lodge, with the revival of interest among the scattered 
Fellows and the few existing Lodges in the United States. 
In April, 1886, he issued the first number of The Path, 
the magazine of which H.P.B. said and wrote: ‘‘It is 
pure Buddhi.’’ Thenceforth The Path was the organ 
par excellence, not only of the American members of the 
Theosophical Society, but of the Theosophical Movement 
and the practical, devotional applications of the teachings 
of Theosophy. Within a year from the commencement 
of its publication the number of branches had tripled, 
and active study and propaganda had created a wide- 
spread interest in the press and in the public mind. The 
Board of Control appointed in 1884 by Col. Olcott, the 
President, at Mr. Judge’s suggestion, for the facilitation 
of the routine of the American Branches and member- 
ship, continued until the summer of 1886. October 30 of 
that year, again at Mr. Judge’s request to H.P.B. and 
upon her suggestion to Col. Olcott, the Board of Con- 
trol met at Cincinnati, together with delegates either 
in person or by proxy from the American Lodges and 


108 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


organized the ‘‘American Section of the Theosophical 
Society.’? In April, 1887, the first Convention of the 
newly formed Section met at New York City, a constitu- 
tion and by-laws were adopted, officers chosen, and the 
first democratic organization embracing a number of in- 
dependent Branches was effected in the Society’s his- 
tory. Mr. Judge was elected General Secretary of the 
American Section. 

The American Section of the Theosophical Society 
was not an organization of the individual Fellows of 
the Society, but a federation of all the Branches, Lodges, 
or Societies in the United States. Hach separate So- 
ciety was autonomous in its own internal affairs, like 
the states of the American Union, but all were joined 
together in a single governing body with its own constitu- 
tion, powers, and officers, similar to the Federal govern- 
ment, which was, in fact the model followed, both in the 
organization of the Parent Theosophical Society and of 
the American Section. The General Council in India 
was recognized, and the unity of the Society throughout 
the world in purpose and teaching was affirmed. At the 
same time the right to independence was placed on record 
in these words of Mr. Judge in his first formal Report, 
read at the second Convention at Chicago in April, 1888: 
‘‘Of course the American Branches could have met to- 
eether and formed themselves independently, but since 
we draw our real inspiration from India, it would seem 
unwise as well as disloyal to have failed to try and 
keep the orderly and regular succession.’’ The prior 
de facto nature of the conduct of the Society’s affairs, 
corresponding to that of the Confederation of the Thir- 
teen Colonies before the adoption of the American Con- 
stitution, was also recorded in these words referring to 
the previously existing Board of Control: 


That Board was therefore in charge of the in- 
terests of the movement here, and was in fact 
a continuation of the system of somewhat pa- 
ternal and unrepresentative government which 
had up to that time prevailed. 


DIVISIONS AMONG THEOSOPHISTS 109 


The ‘‘somewhat paternal and unrepresentative govern- 
ment’’ continued to mark the conduct of affairs in India 
throughout, and in Europe until 1890, but in America 
the conduct of the Society was henceforth strictly demo- 
eratic. 

This Convention of 1888, while the second chronologi- 
eally, was really the first from the standpoint of organ- 
ized activity in America. It was attended by delegates 
in person or by proxy from all the active Lodges in the 
United States, by that time twenty-two in number; was 
signalized by letters of greeting from India, from the 
Council of the London Lodge, and by the attendance of 
Dr. Archibald Keightley as a formal delegate from the 
Blavatsky Lodge and the London Lodge, in both of which 
he was an officer. Dr. Keightley was also acting as the 
special representative of Madame Blavatsky, from whom 
he bore a long and important Letter to the Convention. 
This Letter was read to the assembled delegates and 
afterwards printed in the published ‘‘Official Report of 
Proceedings’’ issued by the American Section. 

The autumn of 1888, the beginning of the fourteenth 
year of the Society’s career, was marked by the most 
important event in its history, next to the organization 
of the democratic American Section, and was, in fact, 
the outcome of that epochal point: the public announce- 
ment and inauguration of the Hsoteric Section, which 
must now be traced. 


CHAPTER VIII 


ESOTERIC AND EXOTERIC ASPECTS OF THE THEOSOPHICAL 
MOVEMENT 


HirHeErRtTo we have been concerned with the survey of 
the Theosophical Movement of the nineteenth century 
from its public aspects: the recital of a series of events 
more or less in relation with each other and with the 
sum of human activities, together with such reflections 
on their bearings and significance as to us appear logical 
and consistent. An attempt has been made to show 
clearly that the vicissitudes both of the Theosophical 
Society and Madame Blavatsky’s teachings of Theosophy 
were inevitable and but a repetition of the varying for- 
tunes which have attended every former effort to intro- 
duce a system of thought and action at variance with the 
ideas, customs, and practices still firmly entrenched in 
the mind of the race. So far, all that we have discussed 
is accessible in all its detail to any inquiring student, and 
the ordinary mind will find nothing beyond the range of 
common observation and experience. The student will 
have both the advantage and the disadvantage of the 
familiar multitude of conflicting testimony and opinion 
that attends every inquiry into human affairs. He will 
find nothing that transcends the possibility of recon- 
ciliation or explanation on his habitual lines of thought, 
without greatly deranging his fundamental preconcep- 
tions regarding God, Nature, Man, and the course of 
evolution. 

But, as we have early intimated,! the Theosophical 
Movement has an esoteric as well as an exoteric side, and 
here the Western student is without guide, chart, or com- 
pass, either in his own memorial experience or in any ac- 


*See Chapter ITI. 
110 


ESOTERIC AND EXOTERIC ASPECTS 111 


credited testimony of the race to which he belongs. Not 
only so, but he will find himself confronted, both in him- 
self and in the race, with a deeply imbedded incredulity 
which derides and despises the very possibility, even, of 
intellectual and spiritual evolution within and behind 
physical evolution. The student of the esoteric side of 
the Theosophical Movement has then literally to take the 
position of a Columbus. He has to postulate the exist- 
ence of the spiritual and mental world or worlds, inde- 
pendent of and superior to our familiar universe, yet 
inter-penetrating it at every point, standing in relation 
to it as a cause to an effect, and, in man, almost inex- 
tricably interwoven and interblended in his embodied 
existence. He has to admit the fundamental assumption 
that spiritual and intellectual evolution is as much under 
Law in its processes and resultants as physical evolution, 
and that the latter is but the shadow and the reflex of 
the mental, as the mental is of the spiritual. He has to 
recognize the inevitable corollary of these propositions, 
that Life, individual as well as collective, is continuous, 
and that the infinite course of spiritual, mental, and 
physical evolution has produced Beings as much superior 
to man as man is superior to a black beetle—as was once 
speculatively suggested by Prof. Huxley—and, finally, 
that these Beings take an active part in ‘‘the government 
of the natural order of things.’’ 

The student will find that Western religious history 
and Western tradition and myth do, indeed, present an 
immense literature dealing with gods, angels, demons, 
fairies, and so on, and with their relations to human 
beings and human affairs, but such beings and their in- 
terventions are regarded either as miraculous or ficti- 
tious, and belief in them rests either on the grounds of 
‘‘revelation’’ or of mere opinions ingrained from child- 
hood, or of some misunderstood personal psychological 
experience. Nowhere is there any philosophy, any scien- 
tific, any logical, any historical evidence or basis for the 
existence and action of superhuman and subhuman en- 
tities as the product of evolutionary Law. Such a theory 
or such a fact is as unknown or as derided in the West, 


112 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


as foreign to its basic concepts, as the ideas of pre- 
existence, metempsychosis, reincarnation, Karma, con-_ 
tinuous immortality—all integral and inseparable parts 
of the fundamental assumptions connected with the 
esoteric aspects of the Theosophical Movement. ~ Only 
when all these are recognized, at least as a working 
hypothesis, does the expression, ‘‘the esoteric side of the 
Theosophical Movement,’’ become tolerable in any but 
a materialistic sense. The student is compelled to turn 
aside from the religion, philosophy, and thought of the 
day and familiarize himself with the recorded philosophy 
of Theosophy, if he is to view the facts of record in any 
other light than that of the well-nigh universal pre- 
conceptions of the Western race. It is only through the 
most careful and conscientious study and application of 
the teachings of Theosophy that the student can hope to 
penetrate beyond the visible aspects of the Theosophical 
Movement to the arcana of the intellectual and spiritual 
factors and forces which constitute the Occult side of that 
Movement. 

The first direct affirmation of the existence of Adepts, 
Beings perfected spiritually, intellectually, and physi- 
cally, the flower of human and all evolution, is, so far as 
the Western world is concerned, to be found in the open- 
ing sentence of ‘‘Isis Unveiled.’’ From beginning to end 
that work is strewn with evidences, arguments, and 
declarations regarding Adepts and their doctrines. The- 
osophy is declared to be a portion of Their Wisdom; its 
teachings are presented for the examination and study 
of the world and of the Fellows of the Theosophical 
Society. 

As subsequently appeared from the repeated testimony 
of all three, before the publication of ‘‘Isis,’’ and even 
prior to the foundation of the Theosophical Society, 
H.P.B. had imparted many of her teachings to Col. Olcott 
and Mr. Judge, had convinced them of her phenomenal 
powers over matter, time, and space, and had accepted 
them as her pupils. More, through her intervention both 
of them had become assured of the existence of the 
Adepts, had received phenomenal visits from them, and 


ESOTERIC AND EXOTERIC ASPECTS 113 


had made their pledges under the rules of Occultism di- 
rect to the Masters of the Great Lodge of Adepts. They 
had reached the determination to follow the guidance and 
instruction of H.P.B. and it was under her inspiration 
that the Theosophical Society was formed. Again, from 
the subsequent repeated statements of all three as to 
the events and relations of those earliest days, it is ap- 
parent that the connection between H.P.B. and Mr. 
Judge was of a different and deeper nature than the re- 
lation established with Col. Oleott—as will develop in 
the due course of our study. Nor were Col. Olcott and 
Mr. Judge her only pledged associates, though the names, 
duties, and activities of the others have never been pub- 
licly disclosed. But mention of the fact occurs in the 
‘‘Introductory’’ of the ‘‘Secret Doctrine,’’ in Lucifer, 
Volume 3, p. 173, in various ‘‘I. 8. T. Aids,’’ and in 
other places in Theosophical writings. And something 
of the nature and widespread activities of the Adepts 
apart from the Theosophical Society, is plainly to be 
discerned in an article in Blackwood’s Edinburgh Maga- 
eme for January, 1880. This was written by an English 
publicist and embodies a very remarkable letter written 
by an unknown individual named as a ‘‘ Turkish Effendi,’’ 
on the relations of Christianity and Islam. 

The fact of these private teachings, of the intimate con- 
nection of the Adepts with the foundation and spread 
of the Theosophical Society, of an inner core of chelas or 
disciples as the active agents of the Adepts, both in the 
Society and the Movement, of the practical possibility 
of a direct connection with these Adepts and their chelas 
through Madame Blavatsky, was kept sedulously con- 
cealed until after the arrival of H.P.B. and Col. Olcott 
in India. A few Fellows suspected from occasional per- 
sonal hints given them, or by inferences from the acces- 
sible teachings, that more might be learned. But H.P.B. 
turned a deaf ear to all prayers and entreaties in that 
direction, bidding the aspirants join the Society, to study 
the published literature, and apply themselves actively 
to the Objects of the Society. 

In India the religious convictions of the inhabitants 


114 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


are, quite in contrast with the West, the predominant 
factor in daily life. The spiritual and mental heredity of 
the populace is such that the teachings of Theosophy 
have in them nothing of the incredible or revolting to 
inherited ideas. Bound and fettered as they are by rigid 
castes and creeds, separated by alien tongues, crippled 
by an enormous percentage of illiteracy, abused by a 
priesthood which keeps them in subjection to gross idola- 
tries and superstitions, ground by an ever-present pov- 
erty, the vast majority of the Indian populations are, 
nevertheless, deeply religious in feeling, of simple and 
kindly lives, imbued with the ideas of guardian spirits, of 
tutelary deities, of the near presence of the immortal and 
invisible, and of the sacredness of all life. The country 
is full of Sannyasis, Sadhus, and Faquirs, many of them 
men of the noblest and most self-sacrificing character 
who have exempted themselves from all restrictions of 
easte and worldly life and who wander the length and 
breadth of the land keeping alive the reverence and faith 
of the populace, practicing and inculcating the great vir- 
tues of all time. And among the educated classes are 
very many highly intelligent men profoundly versed in 
the philosophical teachings of the ancient sages, Rishis 
and Mahatmas. 

Almost from the first moment of their entry the Found- 
ers met with a sympathetic and understanding reception 
from the Hindus, and in this kindly atmosphere of tradi- 
tional appreciation it was natural that the first declara- 
tion should be made of the deeper import of the The- 
osophical Movement. In The Theosophist for March, 
1880, the article relating to the ‘‘Turkish Effendi’’ was 
reprinted from Blackwood’s. In the succeeding number 
appeared ‘‘The ‘Theosophical Society or Universal 
Brotherhood.’’ This directly identified the Society with 
its great First Object, and made the first public proclama- 
tion of the Superior Sections. The article is an official and 
authoritative announcement, is signed by Kharsedji 
N. Seervai, Joint Recording Secretary, and has for its 
subtitle, ‘‘ Principles, Rules and By-Laws, as revised in 
General Council, at the meeting held at the Palace of 


ESOTERIC AND EXOTERIC ASPECTS Leo 


H. H. the Maharajah of Vizianagram, Benares, 17th 
December, 1879.’’ 

Thereafter references in the pages of The Theosophist 
become more and more frequent; the mysterious Broth- 
ers, or Mahatmas, are often spoken of; chelas and chela- 
ship are discussed, Occultism and its rules are alluded 
to and, on rare occasions, the names and designations 
of various chelas in their differing degrees are guardedly 
and indirectly introduced. 

Subba Row and Damodar became more and more 
known in this way both to Hindus and Europeans. 
Others mentioned from time to time in peculiar and par- 
ticular ways in The Theosophist have remained unknown 
to the world and the references to them seem never to 
have aroused question or comment among Theosophical 
students. Amongst Europeans, Mr. A. P. Sinnett and 
Mr. A. O. Hume, both then resident in India, came into 
indirect contact with the Mahatmas through H.P.B.’s 
agency. These two were witnesses of many phenomenal 
occurrences, and wrote numerous letters to the hidden 
‘‘Brothers.’’ Although they never met the Adepts per- 
sonally and were never themselves able to communicate 
with them directly, both Mr. Sinnett and Mr. Hume re- 
ceived lengthy communications from them, ‘‘Occult let- 
ters’’ amongst those sent and received in more prosaic 
fashion. In the summer of 1881 Mr. Sinnett’s book, ‘‘The 
Occult World,’’ was published in London. This contains 
long extracts from some of the letters of the Mahatma 
““K. H.,’’? written in a script and with a name chosen 
for the purpose of communicating with lay and proba- 
tionary chelas. In these extracts will be found much of 
permanent value concerning the real nature of the The- 
osophical Movement, the purpose of the exoteric The- 
osophical Society or Third Section, the rules and dis- 
cipline of chelaship of the Second Section, the methods 
of the Adepts in dealing with humanity, and other Occult 


7The complete unexpurgated text of these communications has recently 
been published under the title, ‘‘The Mahatma Letters to A. P. Sinnett,’’ 
London, T. Fisher Unwin, Ltd.; New York City, Frederick A. Stokes Com- 
pany. 


116 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


matters. In 1882, ‘‘Hints on Esoteric Theosophy’’ was 
published and contains much matter bearing directly and 
indirectly on the existence and activity of the Second 
Section. The subject of the Superior Sections, their 
teachings, work, and the limitations imposed on and by 
them in dealing with the complex nature of Man, are 
largely discussed in the series of articles, ‘‘Fragments 
of Occult Truth,’’ publication of which was begun in The 
Theosophist for October, 1881. In the number of March, 
1882, was commenced ‘‘The Elixir of Life,’’? with the 
parenthetical notation that it was ‘‘From a Chela’s 
Diary,’’ giving the physical discipline and scientific re- 
sultants of successful probationary chelaship, and setting 
out the conditions precedent to ‘‘Occult preferment.’’ 
In January, 1883, ‘‘Chelas and Knowers’’ was printed, 
followed in the ‘‘Supplement’’ to the issue for July, 1883, 
by ‘‘Chelas and Lay Chelas.’’ This, perhaps the most 
important article on Occultism ever published, sets forth 
the difference between accepted chelas and the pledged 
probationers and neophytes of every degree. It repeats 
in detail the risks and dangers of rushing prematurely 
into ‘‘practical Occultism,’’ gives illustrative examples 
of failure, and specifies some of the iron conditions of 
self-discipline necessary. The same subject was first dis- 
cussed in a general and guarded fashion toward the close 
of the last chapter in ‘‘Isis Unveiled.’’ Finally, the 
leading article for July, 1884, entitled, ‘‘Mahatmas and 
Chelas,’’ gave in clearest words the nature of Adeptship 
and the folly and futility of prevailing ideas among 
Theosophists in regard to Mahatmas and the means of 
approaching Them. 

We have selected only a few of the numerous writings 
which gradually appeared bearing on the esoteric side 
of the Theosophical Movement during the first ten years 
of the Society’s life. Only when these articles and the 
collateral circumstances of their appearance are under- 
stood can their relation to and bearing upon the incidents 
connected with the career of the exoteric Society be 
properly grasped and the behavior of various leading 
persons connected with it be comprehended. To the 


ESOTERIC AND EXOTERIC ASPECTS ya | 


“rush for chelaship’’ and to the failures of probationers 
im Occultism must the student look for the metaphysical 
and spiritual explanations of the internal storms which 
then and thereafter rent the original Theosophical So- 
ciety and its Branches. 

The extensive circulation of ‘‘The Occult World’’ and 
‘‘Hsoteric Buddhism,’’ the intense activity of the London 
Lodge in the pursuit of the Third Object after the return 
of Mr. Sinnett to London and his leading position in that 
Lodge, most of whose members were Spiritualists and 
avid for ‘‘phenomena,’’ caused many to believe that the 
Masters could be reached via mediums, séances, and 
‘“nsychic practices’’ of one kind and another, to the entire 
neglect of the First Object or the study of philosophy. 
The powerful currents that surrounded H.P.B. wherever 
she went; the impetus given to curiosity and ambition 
for ‘‘Occult’’ knowledge by the great amount of pub- 
lished tales and speculations concerning her and her 
mission; the preliminary investigations of the Society 
for Psychical Research into the Theosophical phenomena 
—all these produced a great danger for the selfish, the 
unwary, the venturesome Fellows of the Society who had 
profited spiritually not at all from ‘‘Isis Unveiled,’’ from 
the Master’s letters in ‘‘The Occult World,’’ from the 
repeated instructions and warnings in The Theosophist, 
nor from the private communications from H.P.B. and 
the Mahatmas to numerous individuals most bent on fore- 
ing their way into the sphere of action of the Superior 
Sections without regard to the unknown laws and perils 
to be encountered. Not until late in 1884, when the in- 
dependent and misguided energies of the London Lodge 
threatened the gravest danger both to its Fellows, to the 
Society, and to the Movement, was permission granted, 
at their petition, to Miss Francesca Arundale and others 
to form an Inner Group of the London Lodge as proba- 
tioners of the Second Section. The signers pledged them- 
selves to follow strictly the rules and instructions given 
them. All this remained secret for many years, but in 
the volume, ‘‘Letters from the Masters of the Wisdom,’’ 
published in 1919, will be found some graphic statements 


118 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


and indications of the conditions prevailing—statements 
which shed a fiood of light not only on the state of affairs 
at the time we are discussing, but which are equally il- 
luminating in their application to the course of affairs 
since and now among the thirsty aspirants for Occult 
powers and knowledge. 

During this period the fourth edition of ‘‘The Occult 
World’’ was published with its Appendix containing a 
long letter from the Master ‘‘K. H.’’ on the ‘‘precipita- 
tion’’ of ‘‘Ocecult letters’’ by chelas of the Second Sec- 
tion. All these events accompanied the ‘‘Kiddle inci- 
dent’’; the attack on H.P.B. by Mr. Arthur Lillie in his 
pamphlet, ‘‘Koot Hoomi Unveiled’’; the Coulomb charges 
and the investigation by the S.P.R.; the lukewarmness 
or desertions of the Fellows, and the violation of their 
pledges by lay and accepted probationers of the Second 
Section. 

The first decade passed and its results ascertained and 
weighed as regarded the Society as a whole, re-organiza- 
tion of the work can be seen in the commencement of 
The Path by Mr. Judge, in April, 1886, and of Lucifer 
in London by H.P.B. in September 1887. Something 
of the immensity of the change inaugurated in the public 
work of H.P.B. and Mr. Judge can be seen by merely 
comparing the character and range of contents of these 
two magazines with those of the first seven volumes of 
The Theosophist (1879-86); the published books in the 
period 1885-95 with those of the first decade; the 
growth in character of work undertaken by the Society 
in America and England in 1885-95, whether compared 
with the history of the Society as a whole in its first ten 
years, or with its work and character in India during 
the same ten years, or with any of the fruits of the numer- 
ous Theosophical Societies now in existence that have 
sprung up since 1895. 

The philosophical and moral lessons and considera- 
tions, the sime qua non conditions of the Superior Sec- 
tions, the explanation of the numerous failures, exoteric 
and esoteric, which beset the work of the first ten years, 
and which must beset every similar attempt in all times, 


ESOTERIC AND EXOTERIC ASPECTS 119 


are nowhere more clearly and authoritatively set forth 
than in the article entitled ‘‘The Theosophical Mahat- 
mas.’’ The general circumstances have already been out- 
lined; the particular occasion was as follows: 

Amongst the earliest of the European pledged pro- 
bationers of the Second Section was Mr. W. T. Brown. 
He was a young man who had been reared a strict ortho- 
dox Christian, was a graduate of the University of Glas- 
gow, and had traveled extensively. In 1883, while in 
London, he made the acquaintance of Mr. Sinnett and 
others of the London Lodge, as well as of some leading 
Spiritualists, some Continental followers of Eliphas Lévi, 
and students of medieval Rosicrucianism. He was a 
member of the Central Association of British Spiritual- 
ists, Joined the London Lodge, and became so deeply in- 
terested in what he read and heard of Theosophical teach- 
ings that he determined to go to India and devote his 
life to the ‘‘esoteric doctrine.’’ He was witness of some 
of the phenomena constantly occurring at headquarters, 
received ‘‘Occult’’ messages from one of the Masters, 
and besought Col. Olcott, then absent from Adyar on a 
tour, for permission to share in his work. He received 
a long, friendly, but very straightforward reply warning 
him of the immense difficulties to be confronted. Unde- 
terred, he set out to accompany Col. Olcott, and on this 
trip received further communications from the Master 
‘“‘K. H.,’’ was visited by the Master in ‘‘astral body,’’ 
and finally met the Adept in his physical body, recog- 
nizing the Master both from the portrait which he had 
previously seen, from his ‘‘astral’’ appearance, and from 
the subject matters discussed. All this occurred during 
the latter half of 1883. Mr. Brown was so aroused by 
his experiences and studies that he determined to be- 
come a probationary chela, and was accepted on proba- 
tion in January, 1884. ‘‘On that occasion,’’ he says, ‘‘I 
was warned as to the difficulties of the road which I de- 
sired to tread, but was assured that by a close adherence 
to truth, and trust in ‘My Master,’ all must turn out 
well.’’ 

Mr. Brown was at headquarters during the time of 


120 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


the Coulomb accusations, returning to England wa the 
United States. Next he went to Germany and identified 
himself with the ‘‘Rosicrucians’’ there. He had written 
a pamphlet reciting his experiences in India, which was 
published ‘‘under the authority of the London Lodge.’’ 
Next he published a brief autobiography devoted to his 
experiences in Rosicrucianism, and finally, early in 1886, 
came once more to the United States to associate him- 
self with Mrs. Josephine W. Cables. 

Mrs. Cables was a Christian Spiritualist and herself 
afflicted with psychic tendencies. Learning of the The- 
osophical teachings, she had been largely instrumental 
in forming the Rochester T.S. in 1882, with Mr. W. B. 
Shelley as President and herself as Secretary. This was 
the first Theosophical Society established in America 
after the formation of the parent T.S. In April, 1884, 
she established The Occult Word, a monthly ‘‘journal 
devoted to the interests of the Theosophical Society, and 
for the dissemination of Oriental Knowledge.’’ The is- 
sues appeared irregularly and the contents show a curi- 
ous mixture of Christianity, Spiritualism, Mysticism, 
personal vagaries on diet, ‘‘Asceticism,’’ and “Occult- 
ism.’’ Mrs. Cables gave frequent talks before the Roches- 
ter T.S., held séances, and endeavored by every means in 
her power to ‘‘open up communication’’ with the Mahat- 
mas. Finally she procured the assistance of Mr. Brown. 
In the summer of 1886 Prof. Elliott Coues, President of 
the then American Board of Control of the T.S. en- 
deavored to make of The Occult Word the official organ 
of the T.S. in the United States. Meantime Mr. Judge 
had started The Path, and the character of its contents 
showed a sure knowledge and the signs of direct contact 
with the very Powers Mrs. Cables had been seeking to 
reach in many ways. Very evidently it appeared to Mrs. 
Cables and Mr. Brown that the unknown Masters had not 
accorded them that recognition which they felt that they 
had earned. In The Occult Word for October-November, 
1886, they published a leading editorial article over their 
joint signatures. The article is entitled ‘‘The Theosophi- 
cal Mahatmas,’’ and in it the authors say: 


ESOTERIC AND EXOTERIC ASPECTS 121 


There is a great desire among many of our 
brothers to be put into communication with the 
Theosophical Mahatmas, and as we have given 
much thought to the subject, and evinced great 
desire to receive even slight tokens from the 
Masters, it will be useful to our brothers to have 
some of our reflections. We have come to the 
conclusion that rt is useless to strain the psychi- 
cal eyes toward the Himalayas. ... The Mas- 
ters have given out nothing new in the literature 
of our Theosophical Society. There have been 
students of mysticism in all ages .. . and all of 
these have found a world of literature opening 
to their gaze as they directed their attention to 
the spheres of the occult....We need not 
think, therefore, that we are having a special 
revelation by means of our Society. . . . There- 
fore, we need not run after Oriental mystics who 
deny their ability to help us... . 

A great many of us have come to think that we 
have been running vainly after Hastern mystics 
and ecstatics, when, within the New Testament 
itself, we find the Way, the Truth, and the Life. 
... We are now prepared to stand by our Es- 
sentan Master and to ‘‘test the spirits’? in his 
name. We have been hunting after strange 
gods, and have ‘‘denied Him thrice,’’ but with 
bleeding feet and prostrate spirit we pray that 
He may take us once more under His wing... . 
We have wandered far and suffered for our 
wanderings. We have been lwving on husks, 
while the gospel of love and soul invigoration 
has been always at our hands. ... The ‘‘dwel- 
lers on the threshold are within.’’ 


To this manifesto H.P.B. herself replied in an article 
with the same title, which was published in The Path 
for December, 1886. After stating that the feeling 
expressed by Mrs. Cables and Mr. Brown, ‘‘is undeni- 
ably shared by many Theosophists’’ H.P.B. goes on: 


122 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


Whether the complaints are justified, and 
also whether it is the ‘‘Mahatmas’’ or The- 
osophists themselves who are to blame for tt 1s 
a question that remains to be settled. 


We can here give only the briefest extracts from H.P. 
B.’s article, which constitutes the view of the Superior 
Sections on the essentials of the path of probation and 
the causes of the wrecks that line the road. The article 
itself should be read and pondered by every aspirant to 
esoteric knowledge until it is ineradicably engraved in 
his inner nature, for it relates, not to an isolated in- 
stance, but to the inviolable law of the higher life. She 
says: 


To the plain statement of our brothers and 
sisters that they have been ‘‘living on husks,’’ 
‘‘hunting after strange gods’’ without receiving 
admittance, I would ask in my turn, as plainly: 
‘‘Are you sure of having knocked at the right 
door? Do you feel certain that you have not lost 
your way by stopping so often on your journey 
at strange doors, behind which lhe in wat the 
fiercest enemies of those you were searching 
for?’’... Our Masrers are not a ‘‘jealous 
god’’; they are simply holy mortals, neverthe- 
less, however, higher than any in this world, 
morally, intellectually and_ spiritually, ... 
members of a Brotherhood, who are the first in 
it to show themselves subservient to its time- 
honored laws and rules. And one of its first 
rules demands that those who start . . . as can- 
didates ... should proceed by the straight 
road, without stopping on every sideway and 
path, seeking to join other ‘‘ Masters’’ and pro- 
fessors often of the Left-Hand Science, that they 
should have confidence and show trust and 
patience, besides several other conditions to 
fulfill. Failing in all of this from first to 
last, what right has any man or woman to com- 


ESOTERIC AND EXOTERIC ASPECTS 


plain of the inability of the Masters to help 
BEM. 

Once that a Theosophist would become a can- 
didate for either chelaship or favours, he must 
be aware of the mutual pledge, tacitly, if not 
formally offered and accepted between the two 
parties, and, that such a pledge is sacred. It is 
a bond of seven years of probation. If during 
that time, notwithstanding the many human 
shortcomings and mistakes of the candidate 
(save two which it is needless to specify in 
print), he remains throughout every temptation 
true to the chosen Master, or Masters (in the 
ease of lay condidates), and as faithful to the 
Society founded at their wish and under their 
orders, then the theosophist will be initiated .. . 
thenceforward allowed to communicate with his 
guru unreservedly, all his failings save this one, 
as specified, may be overlooked; they belong to 
his future Karma... . 

Thus the chief and only indispensable condi- 
tion required in the candidate or chela on pro- 
bation is simply unswerving fidelity to the 
chosen Master and his purposes. This is a con- 
dition sine qua non, not .. . on account of any 
jealous feeling, but simply because the mag- 
netic rapport between the two once broken, it 
becomes at each time doubly difficult to re-estab- 
lish it agam. .. . 

Both the writers may have and very likely 
they did—‘‘hunt after strange gods’’; but these 
were not our MASTERS. .. . 

Yet, to those theosophists, who are displeased 
with the Society in general, no one has ever 
made you any rash promises; least of all, has 
either the Society or its founders ever offered 
their ‘‘Masters’’ as a chromo-premwm to the 
best behaved. For years every new member has 
been told that he was promised nothing, but had 
everything to expect only from his own personal 


123 


124 


THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


merit. The theosophist is left free and un- 
trammeled in his actions . . . unless, indeed, one 
has offered himself and is decided to win the 
Master’s favors. To such especially, I now ad- 
dress myself and ask: Have you fulfilled your 


obligations and pledges? Have you .. . led the 
life requisite? ... Let him who feels in his 
heart and conscience that he has—.. let him 


rise and protest. ...tI am afraid my invita- 
tion will remain unanswered. During the eleven 
years of the existence of the Theosophical So- 
ciety I have known, out of the seventy-two regu- 
larly accepted chelas on probation and the hun- 
dreds of lay candidates—only three who have 
not hitherto failed, and one only who had a full 
success. No one forces anyone into chelaship; 
no promises are uttered, none except the mutual 
pledge between Master and the would-be-chela. 
Verily, verily, many are the called but few are 
chosen—or rather few who have the patience of 
going to the bitter end, if bitter we call simple 
perseverance and singleness of purpose. And 
what about the Society, in general? ... Who 
among the thousands of members does lead the 
life? Shall anyone say because he is a strict 
vegetarian—elephants and cows are that—or 
happens to lead a celibate life, after a stormy 
youth in the opposite direction; or because he 
studies the Bhagavad-Gita or the ‘‘Yoga phi- 
losophy’’ upside down, that he is a theosophist 
according to the Masters’ hearts? As it is not 
the cowl that makes the monk, so, no long hair 
with a poetical vacancy on the brow are suf- 
ficient to make of one a faithful follower of 
divine Wisdom. Look around you and behold 
our Universat Brotherhood so-called! The So- 
ciety founded to remedy the glaring evils of 
Christianity, to shun bigotry and intolerance, 
cant and superstition and to cultivate real uni- 


ESOTERIC AND EXOTERIC ASPECTS 125 


versal love extending even to the dumb brute, 
what has it become in Kurope and America in 
these eleven years of trial? ... 

J have never ceased repeating to others as 
soon as one steps on the Path leading to... 
the blessed Masters ... his Karma, instead of 
having to be distributed throughout his long life, 
falls upon him in a block and crushes him with 
its whole weight. He who believes in what he 
professes and in his Master, will stand it and 
come out of the trial victorious; he who doubts, 
the coward who fears to receive his just dues and 
tries to avoid justice being done—F airs. He 
will not escape Karma just the same, but he 
will only lose that for which he has risked its 
untimely visits. ... 

And now repeating after the Paraguru—my 
Master’s Masrer—the words He had sent as a 
message to those who wanted to make of the 
Society a ‘‘miracle club’’ instead of a Brother- 
hood of Peace, Love and mutual assistance— 
‘Perish rather, the Theosophical Society and 
its hapless Founders,’’ I say perish their twelve 
years’ labour and their very lives rather than 
that I should see what I do to-day: theosophists, 
outvying political ‘‘rings’’ in their search for 
personal power and authority ; theosophists slan- 
dering and criticizing each other as two rival 
Christian sects might do; finally theosophists re- 
fusing to lead the life and then criticizing and 
throwing slurs on the grandest and noblest of 
men, because . . . those Masters refuse to inter- 
fere with Karma and to play second fiddle to 
every theosophist who calls upon Them and 
whether he deserves it or not.’’ 


The history of the Theosophical Society is the history 
of the failure of Theosophists in high and low position 
to lead the life inculeated in their own Objects and their 


126 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


own professions; is the record of the failure of the lay 
and pledged probationers of the Second Section to keep 
their pledges in ‘‘simple perseverance and singleness of 
purpose.’’ 

The case of Mrs. Cables and Mr. Brown has been 
selected because it is public and typical of the hundreds 
of cases before and since of those who started with fair 
prospects, in all the glory of a fresh enthusiasm, with 
all the general and particular advantages, help, and 
guidance that past Karma and personal contact with the 
Teachings and the Teachers could give them, and who 
nevertheless failed miserably because they would not, 
and not because they cowld not, adhere to the lines laid 
down by those very Masters whom they longed to come 
in contact with as accepted chelas. 

Mr. Brown returned to England, later went to India 
and there married an HKurasian lady; he returned to the 
fold of orthodox Christianity, and has never since been 
heard of in connection with chelaship. Mrs. Cables 
speedily turned the Rochester T. S. into the Rochester 
Brotherhood, and her magazine into the exponency of 
the various phases of ‘‘Mysticism’’ and ‘‘Occultism’’ 
that attracted her fancy from time to time. Neither Mrs. 
Cables nor Mr. Brown appears ever to have questioned 
their own instability of purpose, their own inconsistency 
of action, their own utter failure to abide by the condi- 
tions they had themselves invoked. Was this course of 
conduct unique on their part or was it but a manifesta- 
tion of those very defects and weaknesses of human na- 
ture which must be fought and conquered by the candi- 
date for chelaship? 


CHAPTER IX 
H.P.B., OLCOTT, AND JUDGE 


History is more than the narration of events; even 
the most personal and short-sighted recognize that ac- 
tions do not perform themselves. There is no action 
without a being to make it and to feel its effects. No 
one’s minutest action stands alone and without relation. 

History is the story of the persons and personages 
who performed the actions, as well as of the events them- 
selves; but even more, if its chronicle is to be of any 
value to the student, he must be concerned in the meaning 
of the incidents which crowd the stage; in the parts 
played by the various actors in the drama; in the lessons 
to be learned in relation to the larger drama of life itself 
in which he and all other sentient beings are concerned. 

Behind the arras of the visible lies the real and endur- 
ing world of causation, the world of immortal Souls en- 
gaged in the battle of Life—the pilgrimage of spiritual 
and mental evolution, in which all are involved. Thus 
the history of the Theosophical Movement becomes a 
study of the operation of the Law of Karma, in which, 
every living Soul is equally concerned. 

The moment anyone takes this position he is on the 
plane of consciousness of the Superior Sections of the 
Theosophical Society; he is studying particular persons 
and their actions in the light of Unwersal Principles— 
in the light of the teachings of Theosophy, exoteric and 
esoteric. 

From the beginning it was the Theosophical Society 
which attracted the attention of friends and foes alike. 
As it was the visible body, the heredity and pre-concep- 
tions of the race made the thing visible, the reality. Its 
declared platform of Objects was universally attractive, 

127 


128 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


so long as those Objects remained in the region of ideals; 
an abstraction which one could profess without disturb- 
ance, external or internal. 

But when it was ascertained that the Society was in 
fact but a vehicle for the dissemination and serious study 
of Theosophy; when it was seen that the careful study 
and comparison of the various religions and theories, 
philosophical and scientific, led straight to the unavoid- 
able inference that the only value in any or all of them 
lay in what they had in common, not in their mutual 
exclusions; that the various differences were mutually 
contradictory and destructive; that in Theosophy alone 
was an inclusive Wisdom, self-convincing and self-ex- 
planatory of all and everything—then the Theosophical 
Society became and continued to be the target for every 
species of assault and attack that the adherents of sec- 
tarianism, whether in religion or science, could devise. 
And when it was perceived by the Fellows that the Ob- 
jects of the Society were not merely formal and academic; 
that the serious study of Theosophy produced wholly 
unlooked-for results in themselves, compelling them to 
choose between their predilections and their professed 
principles, by far the greater part either left the Society 
altogether, or lapsed into the hypocrisy which pretends 
one course of action while following another. The active 
and earnest Theosophists have always been but a scant 
fragment of even that handful of humanity which from 
time to time has ealled itself Theosophical. 

The actual active and visible Head of the Theosophical 
Society was at all times Col. H. S. Olcott. To his zeal 
was due its foundation, to his ardent devotion its spread, 
to his abilities and sacrifices its successes. The Society 
itself more and more became to him the one Object of 
his existence; to it and for it he gave his all. 

The case was quite otherwise both with H.P.B. and 
William Q. Judge. To neither of them was the So- 
ciety ever anything but a body, an instrument, an im- 
perfect and faulty machine for conserving energy and 
putting it to use. Both of them were Co-Founders with 
Col. Oleott of the Society, both of them gave without 


H.P.B., OLCOTT AND JUDGE 129 


stint to its support and defense, but only and always as 
a mere means to an end. 

As President-Founder of the visible Society, Col. Olcott 
was prominent before the members and before the pub- 
lic. H.P.B. had as little to do as possible with the con- 
duct of the Society; Mr. Judge was scarcely known at 
all in connection with it during its first decade. At all 
times until and unless the exigencies of the Movement 
compelled such appearances and interferences both 
H.P.B. and Mr. Judge supported and worked through 
Col. Olcott in the affairs of the Society, making them- 
selves in every public way subordinate to him. His work 
was the exoteric phase of the Movement; theirs the 
esoteric. 

H.P.B. was the Teacher; for purposes of the Move- 
ment she was the direct Agent of the Lodge of Masters 
of the Wisdom-Religion. These Masters were and re- 
main, securely veiled from the prying and selfish ap- 
proach of humanity, Their existence a matter of infer- 
ence only to all but Their chelas and ‘‘those with whom 
They voluntarily communicate.’? They are known in 
the world only through the evidences amassed by H.P.B. 
in her writings, through the few communications from 
Them to others who were, in every case, brought into 
relation with Them by and through H.P.B., and through 
those longings and aspirations of the human heart which 
still preserve the faith in Divine Beings, Elder Brothers 
to suffering and sinful man. So far as the whole West 
is concerned all that anyone knows or infers of the Mas- 
ters or Their Wisdom-Religion, or Their chelas, comes, 
directly or indirectly, from the mission of H. P. Bla- 
vatsky. She therefore stood, and stands, in a position 
of supreme importance to the whole world; for she stands 
m the place of the Masters as Their Messenger until 
1975, when she stated that Their next Messenger would 
come. All others, their statements and their actions, 
must be viewed in the light of her mission, her teachings, 
her statements, and her example; for she and none other 
represented the First Section. 

Next to her in importance in the Theosophical Move- 


130 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


ment was, and is, William Q. Judge, as we shall see 
in due season. The placing of any persons, however 
talented or supposedly proficient in Occultism, on the 
same plane of knowledge and action in the world as these 
two; the acceptance of any teachings or ‘‘messages’’ as 
Theosophy in contravention of the recorded statements 
of these two, is to deny in fact the very Source of the 
Message of Theosophy, is to attribute to the Masters 
Themselves the fallibility of human nature. To take such 
a position is to imagine that They chose an untrustworthy 
direct Agent to deliver Their Message to humanity; that 
they permitted Their Message to be faultily and imper- 
fectly recorded; that They left the world and the sin- 
cere student alike at the mercy of claimants of every 
kind, and without any sure guide or landmark of phi- 
losophy and example. 

H.P.B. represented the First Section of the Theo- 
sophical Movement; W. Q. Judge represented the 
Second Section, and Col. H. 8S. Olcott the Third Section 
—or Theosophical Society proper. The evidences are 
abundant and overwhelming, as we shall see. Colonel 
Olcott was never, from the standpoint of the Superior 
Sections, other than a probationary chela. It is thus 
important to consider his dual position: on the one hand, 
the President-Founder of the Society, its guiding genius 
and chief figure before the world; on the other hand, a 
struggling probationer, fighting and failing over and over 
again in his efforts at self-discipline and self-mastery. 
In the esoteric study of the Theosophical Movement, the 
actions of Col. Olcott the President, in all their contradic- 
tions and confusions, have to be studied in the light of 
Col. Olcott, the aspirant for accepted chelaship of the 
Second Section. Pathetic and disillusioning as is the 
task, it should be tempered in writer and reader alike 
by the reflection that the story of Col. Olcott is the story 
in advance of what confronts every aspirant to the same 
up-hill Path; the extent to which we learn the lesson of 
his failures is the measure of our debt to him. 

In the article ‘‘Chelas and Lay Chelas’’ before re- 
ferred to, H.P.B., in discussing the requisites and diffi- 


H.P.B., OLCOTT AND JUDGE 131 


culties of probationary chelaship of the Second Section, 
illustrates some of her points by incidental reference to 
Col. Olcott. She says: 


All were refused at first, Col. Olcott, the Presi- 
dent himself, to begin with; and as to the latter 
gentleman there is now [July, 1883] no harm in 
saying that he was not formally accepted as a 
Chela until he had proved by more than a year’s 
devoted labors and by a determination which 
brooked no denial, that he might safely be tested. 


On this subject Col. Olcott himself says in a letter 
written in 1881 and published in ‘‘ Hints on Esoteric The- 
osophy, Number I,’’ that he was ‘‘provoked and exas- 
perated’’ by the ‘‘selfish and cruel indifference of 
H.P.B.”’ to his ‘‘yearnings after the truth,’’ as well as by 
‘‘the failure of the Brothers to come and instruct’’ him. 
He himself gives the reasons both for the delay and his 
own misunderstandings: 


I got that proof in due time [of the existence 
of Masters]: but for months I was being gradu- 
ally led out of my spiritualistic Fool’s Paradise, 
and forced to abandon my delusions one by one. 
My mind was not prepared to give up ideas that 
had been the growth of 22 years’ experiences, 
with mediums and cireles. . . . But now it was 
all made clear. I had got just as much as I 
deserved. ...So...I1 adopted those habits 
and encouraged those thoughts that were con- 
ducive to the attainment of my ends. 

After that I had all the proofs I needed, alike 
of the existence of the Brothers, their wisdom, 
their psychical powers, and their unselfish devo- 
tion to humanity. For six years I have been 
blessed with this experience ... and yet after 
all these years not only not made an adept, but 
hardly having achieved one step towards adept- 
ship. 


132 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


Colonel Olcott was in his forty-fourth year at the time; 
an age, when, owing to the physical and psychical limi- 
tations of the human instrument, the constitutional 
changes necessary to successful chelaship present the 
extreme of difficulty, even granting that all other con- 
ditions are of the most favorable. What his actual con- 
dition was is further indicated in the same letter: 


If you will only reflect what it is to transform 
a worldly man, such as I was in 1874—a man of 
clubs, drinking parties, mistresses, a man ab- 
sorbed in all sorts of worldly public and private 
undertakings and speculations—into that purest, 
wisest, noblest and most spiritual of human 
beings—a BrorHer, you will cease to wonder or 
rather you will wonder, how I could ever have 
struggled out of the swamp at all, and how IL 
could have ever succeeded in gaining the firm 
straight road. 

No one knows until he really tries it, how 
awful a task it is to subdue all his evil passions 
and animal instincts, and develop his higher 
nature. % 

From time to time one or another Brother 
who had been on friendly terms with me. . 
has become disgusted with me and left me to 
others, who kindly took their places. Most of all, 
I regret a certain Magyar philosopher, who had 
begun to give me a course of instruction in occult 
dynamics, but was repelled by an outbreak of my 
old earthly nature. 

But I shall win him back and others also, 
for I have so determined; and whatever a man 
really Wiis, that he has... . 

If my experience is worth anything, I should 
Say ... that however great a man may be at 
this side of the Himalayas, he begins his rela- 
tions with the Brothers on exactly the same 
terms as the humblest Chela who ever tried to 
scale their Parnassus; he must ‘‘win his way.’’ 


H.P.B., OLCOTT AND JUDGE 133 


Kivery probationer of the Second Section will be pre- 
pared to agree with Col. Olceott’s statement of the dif- 
ficulties of the effort to conquer ‘‘these vices of the ordi- 
nary personal man’’; to sympathize with him in his 
struggles, failures, and renewed determination to con- 
tinue on the path of probation. Few as yet have had 
the experience of the fiery furnace requisite to have a 
just appreciation of the far more difficult and onerous 
task of facing and conquering the universal vices in- 
herent in human nature—the very crucible that his posi- 
tion as President-Founder and his ‘‘determination which 
brooked no denial’’ as an aspirant for chelaship, com- 
pelled Col. Olcott to enter. And it is this prolonged 
ordeal that we must now study in its effects. We have 
already touched on the failure of the probationers, Col. 
Olcott among them, ‘‘to defend the honour of a brother 
Theosophist even at the risk of their own lives,’’ when 
H.P.B. was assailed by the Coulombs, the missionaries, 
and the Psychical Research Society. We have entered 
more largely into the primary obligations of chelaship 
in discussing the failures of Mrs. Cables and Mr. Brown. 
We must now trace Col. Olcott more particularly in his 
relation to H.P.B. as chela to Guru, in the incidents 
preluding the formation of the Esoteric Section of the 
Theosophical Society. 

The pledge taken by Col. Olcott was not different in 
spirit from that taken by every neophyte of the Second 
Section. Its essential features, so far as it relates to 
the matters under review, are contained in the follow- 
ing clauses: 


I pledge myself to support, before the world, 
the Theosophical Movement, its leaders and its 
members; and in particular to obey, without 
eavil or delay, the orders of the Head of the Sec- 
tion in all that concerns my relation with the 
Theosophical Movement. 


The student will do well to note, (1) that the taking 
of the pledge is voluntary on the part of the applicant; 


134 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


(2) that it pledges entire obedience to the Head of the 
Section, who was and is H.P.B., in all that relates to 
the Theosophical Movement; (3) that her public teach- 
ings, the Objects of the Society formed at her instigation, 
no less than her private teachings and individual in- 
structions, constitute and comprise her orders, which 
every neophyte of the Second Section pledges himself to 
obey. Not until the candidate was making strenuous and 
measurably successful efforts to embody in his own life 
all Three Objects of the Society was he even eligible for 
consideration as an applicant for the probationary de- 
gree of the Second Section. Not until he fulfilled all 
the conditions of the pledges of the probationer was he 
in any way eligible to the higher degrees of the Second 
Section. Meantime he had constantly to bear in mind 
that no one would enforce or compel his keeping of his 
pledge; from start to finish his course must be self-in- 
duced and self-devised. In the words of Col. Olceott’s 
letter before quoted from, each applicant would get just 
as much as he deserved; he need look for no extraneous 
help ‘‘to achieve that which no man ever did achieve 
except by his own self-development.’’ Or, as expressed 
in ‘‘Chelas and Lay Chelas’’: 


THE MAHATMAS ARE THE SERVANTS, NOT THE AR- 
BITERS OF THE LAW OF KARMA. Lay-CHELASHIP 
CONFERS NO PRIVILEGE UPON ANYONE EXCEPT 
THAT OF WORKING FOR MERIT UNDER THE OBSER- 
VATION OF A MASTER. And whether that Master 
be or be not seen by the Chela makes no differ- 
ence whatever as to the result; his good thoughts, 
words, and deeds will bear their fruits, his evil 
ones theirs. 


Col. Oleott’s course may first be discerned by an ex- 
amination of the contents of The Theosophist, which he 
directed after the departure from India of H.P.B. early 
in 1885. His prompt efforts to disclaim any reliance upon 
H.P.B., and his indirect assertion of his own paramount 


H.P.B., OLCOTT AND JUDGE 135 


importance have been noted in an earlier chapter.1 When 
the American Board of Control was suggested by Mr. 
Judge to Col. Olcott for the preliminary direction of the 
rising tide foreseen by Mr. Judge in America, Col. Olcott 
appointed Prof. Elliott Coues of Washington, D. C., 
whom he met in London and Germany in the summer of 
1884, to be its Chairman and leading figure. From the 
first moment of his connection with the Theosophical 
Society Prof. Coues began to cause difficulties. This re- 
quires separate treatment; it is sufficient here to men- 
tion the fact. Finally, Mr. Judge had recourse to Madame 
Blavatsky, and through her insistence Col. Olcott dis- 
solved the American Board of Control and assented to 
the formation of the American Section of the Theosophi- 
cal Society. The actual facts, so far as they could be 
stated without exposing the internal discords, were placed 
on record in the first printed Report of the American 
Section—that of the second Convention. The ‘‘Supple- 
ment’’ to The Theosophist for November, 1886, remarks: 


The movement in the United States is gain- 
ing strength, but not without friction always 
to be expected from the contact of strong per- 
sonalities. ... The reconstructive plan sent 
over by the Adyar Council, which supersedes the 
Board of Control by the organization of an 
American Section of the General Council, is to 
be acted upon in December, and it is hoped that 
all may be pleasantly settled. 


There is here no apparent perception that anything was 
involved beyond the ‘‘friction of strong personalities’’ ; 
no recognition of the fact that the plan came from Mr. 
Judge and was accepted only because of the insistence of 
H.P.B.; no comment upon the fact that the new Section 
was to be purely democratic, entirely independent, and 
in nominal affiliation only with the Indian autocracy set 


*See Chapter VII. 


136 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


up by Col. Olcott under the thin mask of the ‘‘Adyar 
Council.’’ 

The Path was noted in a friendly way at its founda- 
tion in April, 1886, and occasional brief mention made of 
its contents. But no notice was taken of the affair of 
Mrs. Cables and Mr. Brown, nor of ‘‘The Theosophical 
Mahatmas,’’ in which, as we have seen,? H.P.B., from 
her sick bed at Ostend, wrote with the vigor and clarity 
that the importance of the issues required. 

Another matter at the same time received her atten- 
tion, and this was even more important, from the ex- 
oteric standpoint. Ever since Mr. C. C. Massey had 
raised the question that ‘‘Isis Unveiled’’ denied re-in- 
carnation * and had claimed that her later teachings were 
at variance in other points from her earliest expositions, 
H.P.B. had merely denied the allegation and declared 
that there were and could be no contradictions in any of 
her teachings, since all alike came from the Masters. 
Beyond that she had held her peace. But after the S.P.R. 
Report and especially after the divergent activities 
and teachings promulgated in the London Lodge under 
Mr. Sinnett’s auspices, these old charges began once 
more to circulate. There was a persistent, private, word- 
of-mouth effort going on in various quarters to belittle 
the Occult knowledge and status of H.P.B., and make 
her out a medium and a student, as fallible as any of the 
others. The time being ripe, Mr. Judge published a long 
and leading article by H.P.B., in The Path for Novem- 
ber, 1886, entitled ‘‘Theories About Re-incarnation and 
Spirits,’’ in which she gave the actual facts once and for 
all. 

No notice was taken of this article by The Theosophist 
for the very good reason that Col. Oleott shared Mr. 
Massey’s opinions and those of Mr. Sinnett and others 
with regard to H.P.B., and her teachings and status, 
as long afterwards, he himself admitted.* 

The publication of Lucifer was begun in London in 


See Chapter VIII. 
*See Chapter IV. 
‘Postscript, The Theosophist, ‘‘Supplement,’’ April, 1895. 


a 


ee 


H.P.B., OLCOTT AND JUDGE 137 


September, 1887, with H.P.B., as its guiding genius. 
For more than a year the only notice taken by Col. Ol- 
cott of the magazine, its contents, or its editor, is con- 
fined to the following official ‘ditorial Notice,”’ appear- 
ing in The Theosophist for November, 1887: 


At the particular request of Madame Bla- 
vatsky, the undersigned assumes temporarily 
legal responsibility for the editorship of the 
Theosophist; she having undertaken special edi- 
torial duty, in connection with the members of 
our London Lodge T. S., involving the public use 
of her name. Adyar, October, 1887. 

H. 8. Owcort. 


At the Indian Convention, held at the close of De- 
cember, 1886, the famous T. Subba Row delivered a 
series of extemporaneous discourses on the ‘‘ Bhagavad- 
Gita’’ to the assembled delegates and visitors. These 
lectures were published in The Theosophist during the 
year 1887. In the course of his dissertations Subba Row 
spoke somewhat slightingly of the ‘‘Theosophical seven- 
fold classification of Principles’? in Nature and in Man. 
No defensive notice was taken of the rather invidious 
tendency of his statements, then or thereafter, by Col. 
Olcott or those most closely associated with him. In 
the April, 1887, number, therefore, H.P.B. replied in 
friendly fashion to Subba Row’s criticisms, assuming 
that they were incidental and oral and their bearing, as 
affording a-basis for cleavage among Theosophists, over- 
looked. To this Subba Row replied at length, repeating, 
extending, and fortifying his previous statements, and 
indulging in some sharp remarks concerning H.P.B. 
herself. H.P.B. made answer in the August number, 
clearing up the matter of the ‘‘original expounder”’ of 
the ‘‘sevenfold classification,’’ as Subba Row charged her 
with being. She simply stated that the classification at- 
tacked by Subba Row was not her own, but that originally 
given out by Mr. Sinnett in his ‘‘Esoteric Buddhism.’’ 
On this she says—what most Theosophical students have 
overlooked—that ‘‘lHsoteric Buddhism’’ was written 


138 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


‘‘absolutely without my knowledge, and as the author 
understood those teachings from letters he had received.’’ 

As Subba Row was a chela, and the issues raised by 
him largely concerned the Second Section and its work, 
H.P.B. confined herself strictly to what could be publicly 
discussed. The controversy caused a considerable breach, 
as H.P.B. had foreseen, and thereafter Subba Row main- 
tained a coolness towards H.P.B. till the time of his 
death. Her subsequent correction, in the ‘‘Secret Doc- 
trine,’’ of Mr. Sinnett’s erroneous teachings, made com- 
plete the distrust which had been growing in him since 
1883. In the one case and in the other Col. Olcott’s sym- 
pathies were with his fellow students and not with his 
Teacher and Guru, H.P.B. In the Subba Row con- 
troversy Col. Olcott kept silent. So did Mr. Sinnett, 
whose erroneous interpretations were the real basis of 
Subba Row’s criticisms directed against H.P.B. But Mr. 
Judge from far-away America was a diligent watcher 
of all that took place and in the August, 1887, number of 
The Theosophist with exquisite tact, skill, and percep- 
tion he reconciled and cleared up the situation, giving 
the facts, but giving them with all gentleness and discre- 
tion. But he paid the price of his loyalty and devotion, 
no less than of his knowledge and intuition. For this 
article necessarily had to lay bare the inconsistencies 
and ‘‘authority’’ of ‘‘Hsoteric Buddhism.’’ And, no 
more than Subba Row or Col. Olcott, could Mr. Sinnett 
endure correction, even at the hands of H.P.B., let alone 
a young man as obscure as Mr. Judge. Of all this in 
due sequence. Meantime, to follow the thread of Col. 
Oleott’s ordeal of chelaship. 

Immediately after the formation of the American Sec- 
tion in April, 1887, Mr. Judge wrote H.P.B. under date 
of May 18: 


. . . So many people are beginning to ask me 
to be Chelas that I must do something... . I 
know a good many good ones who will do well 
and who will form a rock on which the enemy 
will founder. 


i 


H.P.B., OLCOTT AND JUDGE 139 


H.P.B. replied, telling Mr. Judge to go ahead in 
America and she would soon do something herself. In 
the autumn following she began Lucifer, which from its 
first number contained articles by her or written under 
her inspiration, all relating to the Second Section, al- 
though not so named, and all in preparation for the forth- 
coming change in the direction of the Movement. The 
first volume contained the ‘‘Comments on Light on the 
Path,’’ detailing the difficulties and requirements of the 
disciple striving for chelaship. The number for April, 
1888, contained the article ‘‘Practical Occultism,’’ by 
H.P.B., giving publicly for the first time the ‘‘private 
rules’’ of the Eastern School, notating what would-be 
chelas had to do for their own safety as well as their 
progress, and for the first time clearly stating the enor- 
mous responsibilities assumed by the Guru or Teacher. 
This was immediately followed in the May number by 
‘‘Occultism Versus the Occult Arts,’’ stressing the dan- 
gers of impure chelaship and the appalling consequences 
of falling into the ‘‘Left-Hand Path.’’ Coincidently The 
Path was publishing articles of similar import. 

To the April, 1888, Convention of the American Sec- 
tion H.P.B. sent a long and formal Letter, which she 
instructed Mr. Judge to read to the assembled delegates. 
In this she placed on record publicly and authoritatively 
her recognition of the status of Mr. Judge in the Move- 
ment, saying that it was to him chiefly, if not entirely, 
that the Society owed its life. The remainder of the 
Letter was devoted to a recital of the purpose and mean- 
ing of the Society and the obstacles that must be over- 
come by its members. This was the first of a series of 
annual Letters, four in all, which she addressed to the 
American Conventions, the last one being written but a 
few weeks before her death. 

If the student will carefully compare the issues of 
Lucifer, The Path, and The Theosophist during the years 
1887-9 he will be amazed to observe, first, the entire unity 
and accord in the two first named in all that concerned 
Theosophy and the Movement; secondly, the marked 
cleavage shown in the contents of The Theosophst dur- 


140 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


ing the same period; the utter ignoring in the latter of 
the cyclic changes under way in the Movement as mani- 
fested in the writings of H.P.B. and Mr. Judge. 

Mr. Judge went to London and there, at the request 
of H.P.B., drew up the plans and wrote the rules for 
the guidance of the forthcoming Esoteric Section of the 
Theosophical Society. Nothing in relation to the Hso- 
teric Section by name appeared in public print until Oc- 
tober, 1888. All that we have been discussing on that 
subject came to light only after many years. The same 
is true of the active correspondence which went on dur- 
ing the interval, between H.P.B. and Col. Olcott, and, 
to a lesser extent, between Mr. Judge and Col. Olcott. 
True as steel, alike to the purposes which inspired them 
and to Col. Olcott in his place and share in the Move- 
ment, nothing was omitted from their efforts to inform 
him of the great issues at stake, to strengthen his weak 
spots, to keep him in line with the real Objects of the 
Society as well as the Movement. 

What Col. Oleott’s real sentiments were, what his 
mingled feelings, what his alternations and violent oscil- 
lations during all this period, constitute one of the most 
vivid examples and illustrations of what may be called 
the ‘‘pledge fever’’ of probationary chelas. Of all this, 
also, nothing appeared in public print, save as it was 
noticeable by such acts of omission and commission as we 
-have been referring to. Long afterwards, in his ‘‘Old 
Diary Leaves,’’ Col. Olcott writes of the events narrated, 
and it is to that source that we may turn for the private 
and missing links of evidence which show that the ruffling 
of the surface of events was but the symptomatic sign 
of the inner struggle of probation. In spite of the mani- 
fold and manifest disloyalty, ingratitude, and other viola- 
tions of their pledges by students and chelas of one de- 
gree of probation or another, of more or less prominence 
in the Society, neither H.P.B. nor Mr. Judge ever 
washed any of the Theosophical ‘‘dirty linen’’ in public; 
ever uttered any reproaches, ever in any way exposed 
the weaknesses and failings of their students or asso- 
ciates. Only when the Society, the School or the Move- 


H.P.B., OLCOTT AND JUDGE 141 


ment was imperiled by the follies of those whom they 
were trying in every way to shield and help, did they 
take the necessary steps to clear the situation. They 
never either defended themselves or attacked others. 
Their work was to lay down the lines of teaching and 
direction, to keep those lines energized, and only when 
the Cause which they represented was endangered by 
external pressures or internal ruptures did they 
intervene. 

‘‘Old Diary Leaves’’ is the personal story of Col. Ol- 
cott and has at least the merit of faithfully picturing, 
albeit unconsciously to himself, ‘‘the true history’’— 
not of the Theosophical Society, but of Henry S. Olcott, 
aspirant for chelaship on ‘‘the hard and thorny path.’’ 
Studied as the diary of a chela on probation, no more 
important lessons are anywhere recorded for the study 
and instruction of the student of the esoteric side of 
the Theosophical Movement, and the causes of the 
failure of the Theosophical Society, than in ‘‘Old Diary 
Leaves.’’ 

The four published volumes of ‘‘Old Diary Leaves’’ 
bear upon their covers the legend: THe True History 
OF THE THEOSOPHICAL SOCIETY. 

No doubt this is what Col. Olcott intended and be- 
lieved them to be. Equally it is beyond question that 
in the eyes of the world and of Theosophical students 
generally he has been assumed to be that one who had 
the greatest knowledge of the facts, the best opportunity 
for accurate judgments, and the strongest incentive for 
recording both. These views have been supported by 
the transparent sincerity that shines from every page of 
his reminiscences, by the wealth of details given by him, 
by the fact that he was throughout its life the official 
Head of the Theosophical Society, that he survived for 
many years both his colleagues in the pioneer work of 
the Movement. 

Neither of his colleagues ever wrote for publication 
anything that savored of the autobiographical or were 
at pains to attract attention to themselves; on the con- 
trary, they ‘‘sedulously kept closed,’’ to the utmost ex- 


142 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


tent that the nature of their mission and the indiscre- 
tions of their associates permitted, ‘‘every possible door 
of approach by which the inquisitive could spy upon them. 
The prime condition of their success was that they should 
never be supervised or obstructed. ... All that those 
outside their circle could perceive was results, the causes 
of which were masked from view.’’ It is passing strange 
that these statements of the Mahatma ‘‘K. H.’’ in his 
letter to Mr. Hume, and the other statements of the same 
Adept in his letters reproduced in ‘‘The Occult World,’’ 
have never been applied by Theosophical students to the 
events and actors in the drama of the Theosophical 
Movement. What more necessary and important than 
that the direct Agent of the Masters in the world should 
be shielded and guarded in her Occult nature and func- 
tions from all but those who have ‘‘earned the right to 
know Them?’’ 

At the outset, then, it should be understood that widely 
as H.P.B. has been discussed and extensive as have 
been the controversies which have raged about her mis- 
sion and her personality the fact remains that only the 
scantiest and most fragmentary details exist relating to 
her, after the elimination of all the mass of hearsay and 
opinion, of claims and counter-claims made by friends 
and foes as to her Occult status, powers, and relations. 
She is to be known, if known at all, only through her 
writings and by those who faithfully ‘‘follow the Path 
she showed, the Masters who are behind.”’ 

Her writings are devoted entirely: (1) to placing on 
record her message of Theosophy and the citation of the 
evidences and arguments establishing its unbroken ex- 
istence down the ages; (2) to articles in explanation and 
application of the Principles of that Message; (3) to in- 
struction, advice, and suggestion to the students, indi- 
vidually and collectively, who to any extent become in- 
terested in Theosophy; (4) to the direct and pointed 
statements made by her in her letters to and in relation 
to those persons who voluntarily associated themselves 
in her work and who as voluntarily pledged themselves 


H.P.B., OLCOTT AND JUDGE 143 


to her guidance and tuition; (5) to the defense of her 
mission, its instruments and her associates. 

She was interested in and devoted to a Cause: nothing 
else mattered to her, nothing else was of moment to her, 
save and except as it might hasten or retard that Cause. 
Her writings, as her works, are wholly impersonal; conse- 
quently she never touched upon persons ‘or events save 
as the exigencies of the Movement, of the Society, or of 
her pupils made such attention compulsory on her part. 
And the same state of fact applies in its integrity to 
William Q. Judge, his writings and his works. 

On the other hand, ‘‘Old Diary Leaves,’’ including the 
miscellaneous articles and letters written by Col. Olcott 
in connection with his Theosophical work, are wholly 
autobiographical and personal—in their point of view, 
in their treatment of men and events, in their judgment 
and conclusions. From the basis of the Superior Sec- 
tions he was a struggling probationer, wrestling with the 
foes entrenched in his own inner nature. In his own 
eyes, and those of so many others, he was the President- 
Founder of the Theosophical Society, wrestling valiantly 
with its enemies, without and within. The period from 
1881-8 is that of the second septennate of the probation- 
ary chelaship both of Henry S. Olcott and of the The- 
osophical Society as a body, and the struggles of the 
one are the mirror and the reflex of the struggles of the 
other. The ‘‘wandering from the discipline’’ of the one 
is depicted in the stresses which beset the other; their 
joint departures from their professed Pledges and Ob- 
jects the compelling reason for the public formation of 
the Esoteric Section of the T.S. 


CHAPTER X 
THE FORMATION OF THE ESOTERIC SECTION 


THE critical period preceding the formation of the 
Esoteric Section has been discussed, and its various fac- 
tors and actors commented on from their several points 
of view, by the only ones competent to do so at first 
hand: by H.P.B., by Col. Olcott, by Mr. Judge, and 
by the Master ‘‘K. H.’’ We may examine at this point 
some of the statements of all of them, in the order named, 
omitting Mr. Judge for the time being, for the sake of 
logical, no less than of chronological, continuity. 

In April, 1886, H.P.B. wrote a long and important 
letter to Dr. Franz Hartmann in reply to questions and 
problems raised by him. Dr. Hartmann, it will be re- 
membered, was at Adyar before, during, and subsequent 
to the Coulomb charges, the Indian Convention’s prac- 
tical desertion of H.P.B., Mr. Hodgson’s investigations 
for the S.P.R., the resignation and departure of H.P.B. 
He was familiar with much of the unwritten history of 
that eventful period. He learned enough, and his in- 
tuitions were sufficiently awake, to make him the faithful 
and loyal friend of both H.P.B., and W.Q.J., through 
all the troubled voyage of the Theosophical ship. 
H.P.B.’s letter to him was forced into publicity by the 
necessities of a decade later. It will be found in full in 
The Path, for March, 1896. 

After acknowledging his letter she says: 


What you say in it seems to me like an echo 
of my own thoughts in many a way; only know- 
ing the truth and the real state of things in the 

144 


THE ESOTERIC SECTION 145 


‘*Occult world’’ better than you do, I am perhaps 
able to see better also where the real mischief 
was and lies. 


What the truth and the real state of things was in 
connection with the facts and factors underlying the 
course of events we are considering is discussed at length: 


As to... that portion of your letter where 
you speak of the ‘‘army’’ of the deluded—and 
the ‘‘imaginary’’ Mahatmas of Oleott—you are 
absolutely and sadly right. Have I not seen the 
thing for nearly eight years? Have I not strug- 
gled and fought against Olcott’s ardent and 
eushing imagination, and tried to stop him every 
day of my life? Was he not told by me... 
that if he did not see the Masters in their true 
light, and did not cease speaking and enflaming 
people’s imaginations, that he would be held re- 
sponsible for all the evil the Society might come 
TO tin feen 

Ah, if by some psychological process you could 
be made to see the whole truth! . . . I was sent 
to America on purpose and sent to the Eddys. 
There I found Olcott in love with spirits, as he 
became in love with the Masters later on. I was 
ordered to let him know that spiritual phe- 
nomena without the philosophy of Occultism 
were dangerous and misleading. I proved to 
him that all that mediums could do through 
spirits others could do at will without any 
spirits at all. ... Well, I told him the whole 
truth. I said to him that I had known Adepts, 
... That ... Adepts were everywhere Adepts 
—silent, secret, retiring, and who would never 
divulge themselves entirely to anyone, unless 
one did as I did—passed seven and ten years’ 
probation and given proofs of absolute devotion, 
and that he, or she, would keep silent even be- 
fore a prospect and a threat of death. I fulfilled 


146 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


the requirements and am what I am; and this 
no Hodgson, no Coulombs, no Sellin,! can take 
away from me.... 

When we arrived [in India] and Master com- 
ing to Bombay bodily, paid a visit to us... 
Olcott became crazy. He was like Balaam’s 
she-ass when she saw the angel! Then came 
... other fanatics who began calling them 
‘‘Mahatmas’’; and, little by little, the Adepts 
were transformed into Gods on earth. They be- 
gan to be appealed to, and made pwya to, and 
were becoming with every day more legendary 
and miraculous. ... Well between this idea of 
Mahatmas and Olcott’s rhapsodies, what could 
I do? I saw with terror and anger the false 
track they were all pursuing. The ‘‘ Masters,’’ 
as all thought, must be omniscient, omnipresent, 
omnipotent. . . . The Masters knew all; why did 
they not help the devotee? If a mistake or a flap- 
doodle was committed in the Society—‘‘How 
could the Masters allow you or Olcott to do so?”’ 
we were asked in amazement. The idea that the 
Masters were mortal men, limited even in their 
great powers, never crossed anyone’s mind. .. . 

Is it Olcott’s fault? perhaps, to a degree. Is 
it mine? I absolutely deny it, and protest 
aganist the accusation. It is no one’s fault. 
Human nature alone, and the failure of modern 
society and religions to furnish people with 
something higher and nobler than craving after 
money and honors—is at the bottom of it. Place 
this failure on one side, and the mischief and 
havoe produced in people’s brains by modern 
spiritualism, and you have the enigma solved. 
Olcott to this day is sincere, true and devoted 
to the cause. He does and acts the best he knows 
how, and the mistakes and absurdities he has 


*A German professor and Spiritualist to whom Dr. Hubbe-Schleiden 
turned for ‘‘messages,’’ after his breach with H.P.B., and who, like Mr. 
Sinnett’s ‘‘psychies,’’ charged her with bogus communications, 


THE ESOTERIC SECTION 147 


committed and commits to this day are due to 
something he lacks in the psychological portion 
of his brain, and he is not responsible for it. 
Loaded and heavy is his Karma, poor man, but 
much must be forgiven to him, for he has always 
erred through lack of right judgment, not from 
any vicious propensity. 


This letter, it will be noted, was written a year after 
H.P.B.’s departure from India, a little over a year be- 
fore the foundation of Lucifer, and forms part of the 
chain of time and action leading to the formation of the 
Esoteric Section. Both H.P.B. and Mr. Judge from 
then on made the most strenuous efforts, publicly and 
privately, in preparations for the restoration of the So- 
ciety, in Europe and America at least, to a semblance of 
its original lines, through the Esoteric Section. The ob- 
stacles, internally, lay in misconceptions of the philoso- 
phy, in the erroneous ideas in regard to the nature of 
the Masters, in the deeply rooted preconceived opinions 
of Col. Olcott and many others as to the purposes of 
the Society. From their point of view the Society had 
achieved a magnificent success and, under their guidance 
and direction, was on the highroad to still greater con- 
quests; its drawbacks and limitations chiefly due to the 
‘‘mistakes’’? and the ‘‘interferences’’ of H.P.B. How 
intensely these opinions affected Mr. Sinnett we shall 
find in due course.* How entirely they governed the out- 
look and controlled the attitude of Col. Olcott we have 
now to witness. Turning to ‘‘Old Diary Leaves,’’ we 
may join him in India in the summer of 1887, shortly 
after H.P.B. had removed to London. Beginning with 
the last chapter of his Third Series he says: 


At Chupra, among my foreign letters I re- 
ceived one from H.P.B. which distressed me 
much. She had consented to start a new maga- 
zine with capital subscribed by London friends 


*See also in this connection Mr. Sinnett’s posthumous book, ‘‘The Early 
Days of Theosophy in Europe.’’ 


148 


THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


of hers, while she was still editor and half pro- 
prietor of the Theosophist—a most unusual and 
unbusinesslike proceeding. Besides other causes, 
among them the persuasion of English friends, 
a reason which strongly moved her to this was 
that Mr. Cooper-Oakley, her own appointee as 
Managing Editor, had more or less sided with 
T. Subba Row in a dispute which had sprung 
up between him and H.P.B. on the question 
whether the ‘‘principles’’ which go to the make- 
up of a human being were seven or five in num- 
ber. Subba Row had replied in our pages to an 
article of hers on the subject, and her letters 
to me about it were most bitter and denunciatory 
of Cooper-Oakley, whom she, without reason- 
able cause, charged with treachery. It was one 
of those resistless impulses which carried her 
away sometimes into extreme measures. She 
wanted me to take away his editorial authority, 
and even sent me a foolish document, like a 
power-of-attorney, empowering me to send him 
to Coventry, so to say, and not allow any galley- 
proof to pass to the printer until initialed by 
myself. Of course, I remonstrated strongly 
against her thus, without precedent, setting up 
a rival competing magazine to hurt as much as 
possible the circulation and influence of our old- 
established organ, on the title-page of which her 
name still appeared. But it was useless to pro- 
test; she said she was determined to have a 
magazine in which she could say what she 
pleased, and in due time Lucifer appeared as 
her personal organ, and I got on as well as I 
could without her. Meanwhile, a lively inter- 
change of letters went on between us. She was 
at strife then, more or less, with Mr. Sinnett, 
and before this was settled, a number of seceders 
from his London Lodge organjzed as the Bla- 
vatsky Lodge, and met at her house in Lans- 
downe Road, where her sparkling personality 


THE ESOTERIC SECTION 149 


and vast knowledge of Occult things always en- 
sured full meetings. 


In the second chapter of the Fourth Series, which Col. 
Olcott heads, ‘‘The Fears of H.P.B.,’’ he says, by way 
of preface: 


When I look back through my papers of those 
days of stress and storm, and read the letters 
written me from exile by Mme. Blavatsky, the 
solemn feeling comes over me that the binding 
mortar of its blocks was stiffened by the blood 
of her heart, and in her anguish were they laid. 
She was the Teacher, I the pupil; she the mis- 
understood and insulted messenger of the Great 
Ones, I the practical brain to plan, the right 
hand to work out the practical details. 


After a desultory sentence or two the ‘‘pupil’’ con- 
tinues in regard to his Teacher, the ‘‘misunderstood mes- 
senger of the Great Ones’’: 


It is painful beyond words to read her corre- 
spondence from Kurope, and see how she suf- 
fered from various causes, fretting and worry- 
ing too often over mares’ nests. Out of the 
sorest grievances I select the defection of T. 
Subba Rao [Row]; the admission into the The- 
osophist by the Sub-Editor (whom she had her- 
self appointed) of articles which she considered 
antagonistic to the Trans-Himalayan teach- 
ings; the refusal of Subba Rao to edit the Se- 
cret Doctrime MSS., contrary to his original 
promise, . . . his wholesale condemnation of it; 
the personal quarrels of various European col- 
leagues; the war between Mr. Judge and Dr. 
Coues in America; the threatened renewal of 
persecution against her if she returned to India, 
as we begged her todo; ... 


150 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


On p. 41 he continues: 


Things were growing more and more un- 
pleasant at Adyar on account of the friction 
between H.P.B. and T. Subba Rao and cer- 
tain of his Anglo-Indian backers. They even 
went so far as to threaten withdrawal from 
the Society and the publication of a rival maga- 
zine if H.P.B. did not treat them better. 


On p. 47 he says: 


Portents of a coming storm in our Kuropean 
groups, stirred up or intensified by H.P.B., 
begin to show themselves, and Judge complains 
of our neglecting him. Just then Dr. Coues was 
working hard for the notoriety he craved, and 
Judge was opposing him. 


Finally, on p. 51, referring to the same year (1888) Col. 
Olcott relates: 


The last week in June brought me a vexatious 
letter from H.P.B., indicative of a storm of 
trouble that was raging in and about her. 


Chapter IV of the Fourth Series is entitled ‘‘forma- 
tion of the EHsoteric Section,’’ and continues Col. Olcott’s 
reminiscences of this momentous epoch. He first pays 
tribute to H.P.B. and then proceeds to soliloquize—al- 
ways to the issue that he was the saviour of the So- 
ciety against the weaknesses and mistakes of H.P.B. 
Thus: 


It was remarked at the end of the last chap- 
ter that we were now about to review some dis- 
agreeable incidents of the year in which H.P.B. 
was a conspicuous factor. If she had been just 
an ordinary person hidden behind the screen of 
domesticity, this history of the development of 


THE ESOTERIC SECTION 151 


the Theosophical movement might have been 
written without bringing her on the stage; or if 
the truth had been told about her by friend and 
and foe I might have left her to be dealt with 
by her karma, showing, of course, what great 
part she had played in it, and to how great a 
credit she was entitled. But she has shared the 
fate of all public characters of mark in human 
affairs, having been absurdly flattered and wor- 
shipped by one party, and mercilessly wronged 
by the other. Unless, then, her most intimate 
friend and colleague, the surviving builder-up 
of the movement, had cast aside the reserve he 
had all along maintained, and would have pre- 
ferred to preserve, the real personage would 
never have been understood by her contempo- 
raries, nor justice done to her really grand char- 
acter. That she was great in the sense of the 
thorough altruism of her public work is unques- 
tionable: in her times of exaltation self was 
drowned in the yearning to spread knowledge 
and do her Master’s bidding. She never sold her 
rich store of occult knowledge for money, nor 
bartered instruction for personal advantage. 
She valued her life as nothing as balanced 
against service, and would have given it as joy- 
fully as any religious martyr if the occasion had 
seemed to demand the sacrifice. These tenden- 
cies and characteristic traits she had brought 
over with her from a long line of incarnations 
in which she (and in some, we) had been engaged 
in like service; they were the aspects of her in- 
individuality, high, noble, ideally loyal, worthy, 
not of being worshipped—for no human being 
ought to be made the cause of slavish adoration 
—but of aspiration to be like it. 


Then the wise pupil, sure of his own discrimination 
and judgment, proceeds to point out the weaknesses and 
failings with which his Teacher is afflicted: 


152 


THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


Her personality is quite another affair, and 
afforded a strong background to throw out her 
interior brightness into stronger relief. In the 
matter under present discussion, for instance, 
the front she presents to me in her letters is un- 
lovely to a degree: language violent, passion 
raging, scorn and satire poorly covered by a 
skin of soft talk; a disposition to break through 
the ‘‘red tape’’ of the Society’s mild constitu- 
tion, and to rule or ruin as I might decide to 
ratify or disavow her arbitrary and utterly un- 
constitutional acts; a sniffing at the Council and 
Councillors, whom she did not choose to have 
stand in her way, a sharp and slashing criticism 
of certain of her European co-workers, espe- 
cially of the one most prominent in that part of 
the movement, whose initials she parenthesized 
after the word ‘‘Satan,’’ and an appeal that I 
should not let our many years of associated 
work be lost in the breaking up of the T.S. into 
two unrelated bodies, the Hastern and West- 
ern Theosophical Societies. In short, she writes 
like a mad person and in the tone of a hyper- 
excited hysterical woman, ... Yet, ill in body 
and upset in mind as she may have been, she was 
still a mighty factor for me to deal with, and 
forced me to choose which line of policy I should 
pursue.. The first count in her indictment 
against me (for, of course, more suo, it was all 
my fault) was that I had decided against her 
favourite in an arbitration I had held at Paris, 
that year, between two opposing parties among 
the French Theosophists; it was, she writes me, 
‘‘no mistake, but a crime perpetrated by you 
against Theosophy (doubly underscored), in full 
knowledge of what X is and fear of Y. Olcott, 
my friend you are—, but I do not want to hurt 
your feelings, and will not say to you what you 
are. If you do not feel and realize it yourself, 
then all I can say will be useless. As for P. 


THE ESOTERIC SECTION 153 


[a Frenchman, subsequently expelled from the 
Society], you have put yourself entirely in his 
hands, and you have sacrificed Theosophy, and 
even the honour of the T.S. in France, out of 
fear of that wretched little ; 





Although on page 23 he specifically declares that ‘‘she 
refused point-blank to lead any Society that did not 
recognize Adyar as its central head,’’—a sheer asser- 
tion of his own stated in a manner to indicate it as an 
indirect citation from one of her letters—on p. 55 he 
contradicts himself de but en blanc by quoting directly 
from her correspondence: 


She had hatched out a new section, with her- 
self elected as ‘‘President,’’ taken a commodi- 
ous house, and had a sign-board ready to have 
painted on it either ‘‘HMuropean Headquarters 
of the T.S.’’ or ‘‘Western Theosophical So- 
ciety.’’ Seeming to suspect that I might not like 
it very much to have the whole machinery of the 
Society upset to gratify her whim, and remem- 
bering of old that the more she threatened the 
more stubborn it made me, she writes: 


Now look here, Olcott. It is very painful, 
most painful, for me to have to put you what 
the French call marche en main, and to have 
you choose. You will say again that you 
‘‘hate threats,’’ and these will only make you 
more stubborn. But this is no threat at all, 
but a fait accompl. It remains with you to 
either ratify it or to go against it, and declare 
war on me and my Esotericists. If, recogniz- 
ing the utmost necessity of the step, you sub- 
mit to the inexorable evolution of things, noth- 
ing will be changed. Adyar and EKurope will 
remain allies, and to all appearance, the latter 
will seem to be subject to the former. If you 
do not ratify it—well, then there will be two 


154 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


Theosophical Societies, the old Indian and the 
new Kuropean, entirely independent of each 
other. 


Colonel Olcott says that ‘‘This stand-and-deliver ulti- 
matum naturally frightened the ‘mild Hindu’ members 
of our Executive Council to fits,’’ and that—‘‘The Paris 
arbitration above referred to occurred during my HEuro- 
pean visit of 1888, which kept me there from 26th August 
to 22nd October, and was made at the entreaty of the 
Executive Council, as the tone of H.P.B.’s letters had 
alarmed them for the stability of the movement in the 
West. The tour should, by rights, have been mentioned 
before the incidents of the threatened split above al- 
luded to, but H.P.B.’s letters lying nearest to hand, 
and the trouble being continuous through the two suc- 
cessive years [1888-9], I took it up first.’ 

He then gives the ‘‘true history’’ of the ‘‘Paris im- 
broglio,’’ raging in the ‘‘Isis’’ branch of the T.S. over 
its conduct by M. F. K. Gaboriau, the editor of Le Lotus. 

Colonel Olcott says: 


In doing this he had become involved in dis- 
putes, in which H.P.B. had taken his side, and 
made a bad mess for me by giving hin, in her 
real character of Co-Founder and her assumed 
one of my representative, with full discretion- 
ary powers, a charter of a sweeping and un- 
precedented character, which practically let him 
do as he pleased. This was, of course, protested 
against by some of his soberer colleagues, re- 
criminations arose, and an appeal was made to 
me. 


Colonel Olcott characterizes M. Gaboriau as a ‘‘hyper- 
sensitive young man ... who showed an excessive en- 
thusiasm for Theosophy, but small executive faculty.’’ 

Colonel Olcott proceeded to Paris and on the 17th 
September read his formal ‘‘decision’’ to the assembled 
members. The account in ‘‘Old Diary Leaves’’ recites: 


THE ESOTERIC SECTION 155 


My action in this affair was taken according 
to my best judgment, after hearing all that 
was to be said and seeing everybody concerned ; 
I believe it to have been the best under exist- 
ing circumstances, though it threw M. Gaboriau 
out of the active running, caused him and some 
of his few followers to denounce me unquali- 
fiedly, and led to a pitched battle, as one might 
say, between H.P.B. and myself on my return 
to London. The sequel is above shown in her 
revolutionary action with respect to the reor- 
ganization at London. ... Nearly all the per- 
sons engaged in the Paris quarrel were to blame, 
they having given way to personal jealousies, ob- 
literated the landmarks of the Society, fallen 
into a strife for supremacy, with mutual abuse, 
oral and printed. ... 


Judging from the account in ‘‘Old Diary Leaves”’ 
Olcott was the savior of the T.S. and the Movement, 
against the ‘‘language violent,’’ the ‘‘passion raging,’’ 
the ‘‘arbitrary and utterly unconstitutional acts,’’ the 
‘‘disposition to rule or ruin,’”’ the ‘‘breaking-up of the 
T.S. into two unrelated bodies,’’ the ‘‘stand-and-deliver 
ultimatum,’’ the ‘‘bad mess’’ created by H.P.B.—the 
‘‘mad person,’’ the ‘‘conspicuous factor’’ in the ‘‘dis- 
agreeable incidents,’’ the ‘‘hyperexcited hysterical 
woman.’’ 

In the case in point, the student may turn to the actual 
‘‘official decision’’ of Col. Olcott, in contrast to his story 
as given in ‘‘Old Diary Leaves,’’ and there learn whether 
H.P.B. exceeded her ‘‘constitutional powers’’ in the 
‘‘Tsis Branch’’ imbroglio. In his own words, as recorded 
in that ‘‘decision’’: 


It has been objected that Mme. Blavatsky had 
not the right to act in this matter; that her in- 
terference was illegal according to the Rules of 
the Theosophical Society. . . . But, in point of 
fact, Mme. Blavatsky is... with me Co- 


156 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


Founder of the Society, Corresponding Secre- 
tary and, ex officio, member of the General Coun- 
cil, of the Executive Council and of the Annual 
Convention, a sort of Parliament held at Adyar 
by delegates from all countries... . 

She was, then, perfectly authorized (compé- 
tente) to issue the order in question as a tem- 
porary measure, an order which must be finally 
submitted for approbation to the President in 
Council. The Executive Council, in its session 
of 14th July, formally ratified the measure 
taken by Mme. Blavatsky, a measure which 
was urgent, and which I declare to have been 
lopaling i, 


The absolute contradiction between the facts and the 
story given in ‘‘Old Diary Leaves’’ with its inferences 
and derogatory statements in regard to H.P.B., shows 
the utter unreliability of Col. Olcott when his feelings 
were involved, or when the full facts place him in an 
unenviable light. Only in the light of a ‘‘probationary 
chela’’ in the fiery furnace of ‘‘pledge fever’’ can his 
contradictions be understood and so reconciled with the 
real honesty of his nature and the genuine devotion 
which he manifested for the Theosophical Society, of 
which he was President-Founder and which was the be- 
all and end-all of existence to him. So identified was 
it with himself in his consciousness, that more and more 
he came to view and treat any differences with himself, 
any correction by his Teacher, as an assault and a men- 
ace on the Society. 

Colonel Olcott’s comments, strictures, and judgments 
on H.P.B., of which those herein given are but samples 
of many, stand in melancholy contrast to the Master’s 
own statements in a letter to Col. Olcott at this very 
time. It is a characteristic anachronism that leads Col. 
Olcott, in ‘‘Old Diary Leaves,’’ Third Series, Chapter 
VIII, to relate this letter to the joint visit of H.P.B. 
and himself to Europe in 1884 and the troubles then 
prevalent in the London Lodge; instead of, as was the 


THE ESOTERIC SECTION 157 


fact, to the very matters we are considering, in 1888. 
This letter, which, says Col. Olcott at p. 91, ‘‘I received 
phenomenally in my cabin on board the Shannon, the 
day before we reached Brindisi,’’ is but barely referred 
to by the Colonel. No one could by any possibility infer 
the transcendent importance of its contents from the 
brief quotation given by him. Its textual omission from 
‘Old Diary Leaves’’ is amply accounted for, (1) by the 
contents of the letter itself; (2) by the failing faculties 
of Col. Olcott when ‘‘Old Diary Leaves’’ was written. 
The brief quotation he gives, however, is sufficient to 
identify the letter itself, as is also the fact stated that 
it was received on board the Shannon, which was the ves- 
sel in which he voyaged in 1888, not in 1884; and, no 
less, the citations in Lucifer for October 15, 1888, where 
it is stated by H.P.B. that the letter was received by 
Col. Olcott ‘‘only a few weeks ago.’’ The same number 
of Lucifer gives extracts from the letter, the extracts 
being certified by Col. Olcott himself. Fuller extracts 
were contained in a pamphlet sent out at the time, en- 
titled ‘‘To All Theosophists.’’ The complete text of the 
letter came to the light of general publicity only after 
many years. It will be found in the volume, ‘‘ Letters 
from the Masters of the Wisdom.”’ 

Several momentous facts should be borne in mind 
in connection with this letter: It was ‘‘phenomenally’’ 
delivered to Col. Olcott who was voyaging alone, and 
was at sea, a day from Brindisi, when it was received. 
Its contents show that it was ‘‘precipitated,’’ but a very 
short time before it was received by the Colonel—a mat- 
ter of hours or minutes; it refers prophetically as well as 
historically to other subjects, to which we shall refer 
later on. At this point it is enough to introduce those 
extracts which directly relate to Col. Oleott and H.P.B. 
and shed a clear and authoritative light on their re- 
spective natures, status, and functions, no less than on 
the hidden aspects of the events under consideration. 
The Master addresses Col. Olcott without preamble or 
circumlocution: 

*See Chapters XV and XXIII. 


158 


THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


Again, as you approach London, I have a 
word or two to say to you. Your impressibility 
is so changeful that I must not wholly depend 
upon it at this critical time. Of course you know 
that things were so brought to a focus as to 
necessitate the present journey. ... Put all 
needed restraint upon your feelings, so that you 
may do the right thing in this Western imbroglio. 
Watch your first impressions. The mistakes you 
make spring from failure to do this. Let neither 
your personal predilections, affections, suspi- 
cions nor antipathies affect your action. ... 

Your revolt, good friend, against her ‘‘in- 
fallibility’’—as you once thought it—has gone 
too far, and you have been unjust to her, for 
which [I am sorry to say, you will have to suffer 
hereafter, along with others. Just now—on 
deck, your thoughts about her were dark and sin- 
ful, and so I find the moment a fitting one to put 
you on your guard. . 

Make all these men ‘feel that we have no fa- 
vourites, nor affections for persons, but only for 
their good acts and humanity as a whole. But 
we employ agents—the best available. Of these 
for the past thirty years, the chief has been the 
personality known as H.P.B. to the world 
(but otherwise to us). Imperfect and very 
‘‘troublesome,’’ no doubt, she proves to some; 
nevertheless, there is no likelihood of our finding 
a better one for years to come, and your the- 
osophists should be made to understand it... . 
Her fidelity to our work being constant, and her 
sufferings having come upon her through it, 
neither I nor either of my brother associates 
will desert or supplant her. As I once before re- 
marked, ingratitude is not among our vices. 
With yourself our relations are direct, and have 
been, with the rare exceptions you know of, like 
the present, on the psychical plane, and so will 
continue through force of circumstances. That 


THE ESOTERIC SECTION 159 


they are so rare—is your own fault as I told you 
in my last. To help you in your present per- 
plexity; H.P.B. has next to no concern with ad- 
ministrative details, and should be kept clear of 
them, so far as her strong nature can be con- 
trolled, but this you must tell to all:—with Oc- 
cult matters she has everything to do. We have 
not ‘‘abandoned’”’ her. She is not ‘‘given over 
to chelas.’’ She is our direct agent. I warn you 
against permitting your suspicions and resent- 
ment against ‘‘her many follies’’ to bias your in- 
tuitive loyalty to her. In the adjustment of this 
European business, you will have two things to 
consider—the external and administrative, and 
the internal and psychical. Keep the former un- 
der your control and that of your most prudent 
associates jointly; leave the latter to her. You 
are left to devise the practical details with your 
usual ingenuity. Only be careful, I say, to dis- 
criminate when some emergent interference of 
hers in practical affairs is referred to you on 
appeal, between that which is merely exoteric in 
origin and effects, and that which beginning on 
the practical tends to beget consequences on the 
spiritual plane. As to the former you are the 
best judge, as to the latter, she. . 

There have been sore trials in the past, others 
await you in the future. May the faith and cour- 
age which have supported you hitherto endure to 
the end.... 

This letter . . . is merely given you as a warn- 
ing and a guide.... 


This letter from the Master, and the influence of 
H.P.B., prevailed for the time to restore the poise of 
Col. Oleott, to put him in his proper place, and to pre- 
vent any open breach in the Theosophical ranks. As in 
the spring of 1885, H.P.B. made every effort to shield 
Olcott himself, no less than the Society at large, from 
the bad consequences of his ill-advised actions. A ‘‘ Joint 


160 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


Note’’ was published in Lucifer along with the extracts 
from the Master’s letter, from the official ‘‘decision’’ of 
Col. Olcott, and the notice of the Hsoteric Section of 
the Theosophical Society. The form, both of the ‘‘ Joint 
Note’’ and of the ‘‘Notice’’ was made, as with the no- 
tices in The Theosophist in the spring of 1885, to shield 
Col. Olcott in his position of President-Founder of the 
T. S., and to uphold as far as possible his standing before 
the membership. The ‘‘Joint Note’’ is as follows: 


To dispel a misconception that has been en- 
gendered by mischief-makers, we, the under- 
signed, Founders of the Theosophical Society, 
declare that there is no enmity, rivalry, strife, 
or even coldness, between us, nor ever was; nor 
any weakening of our joint devotion to the Mas- 
ters, or to our work, with the execution of which 
they have honoured us. Widely dissimilar in 
temperament and mental characteristics, and dif- 
fering sometimes in views as to methods of 
propagandism, we are yet absolutely of one mind 
as to that work. As we have been from the first, 
so are we now united in purpose and zeal, and 
ready to sacrifice all, even life, for the promo- 
tion of theosophical knowledge, to the saving of 
mankind from the miseries which spring from 
ignorance, 

H. P. Buavatsxy. 
H. 8. Oucort. 


The public Notice of the Esoteric Section reads: 


THe Hsoreric Section or THE THEOSOPHICAL 
SocretTy 


Owing to the fact that a large number of 
Fellows of the Society have felt the necessity 
for the formation of a body of Esoteric Stu- 
dents, to be organized on the Oriernau Lines 
devised by the real founders of the T.S., the 


THE ESOTERIC SECTION 161 


following order has been issued by the Presi- 
dent-Founder: 

I. To promote the esoteric interests of the 
Theosophical Society by the deeper study of eso- 
teric philosophy, there is hereby organized a 
body, to be known as the ‘‘ Esoteric Section of 
the Theosophical Society.’’ 

II. The constitution and sole direction of the 
same is vested in Madame H. P. Blavatsky, as its 
Head; she is solely responsible to the Mem- 
bers for results; and the section has no official 
or corporate connection with the Exoteric So- 
ciety save in the person of the President- 
Founder. 

III. Persons wishing to join the Section and 
willing to abide by its rules, should communi- 
cate directly with Mur. H. P. Buavarsxy, 17 
Lansdowne Road, Holland Park, London, W. 

(Signed) H. S. Oucort, 
President in Council. 
Attest: H. P. Buavatsxy. 


The astonishing admixture of complacency and naiveté 
exhibited in ‘‘Old Diary Leaves”’ is well illustrated by 
the following extracts, summing up, from Col. Olcott’s 
point of view, the ‘‘title role’’ played by himself: 


I called two Conventions at London of the 
British Branches, organized and chartered a 
British Section of the T.S., and issued an order 
in Council forming an Hsoteric Section, with 
Madame Blavatsky as its responsible head... . 
This was the beginning of the E.S.T. movement. 
... The reason for my throwing the whole re- 
sponsibility for results upon H.P.B. was that 
she had already made one failure in this direc- 
tion at Adyar in 1884 . . . and I did not care to 
be responsible for the fulfilment of any special 
engagements she might make with the new set 
of students she was now gathering about her, in 


162 


THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


her disturbed state of mind. I helped her write 
some of her instructions, and did all I could to 
make the way easy for her, but that was all.... 

My tour realized the objects in view, H.P.B. 
being pacified, our affairs in Great Britain put 
in order, and the E. S. started; but . . . the calm 
was not destined to last and a second visit to 
Kurope had to be made in 1889, after my return 
from Japan. 


CHAPTER XI 
THE WORK OF THE ESOTERIC SECTION 


Arter the events narrated in the last chapter, Col. 
Olcott returned to India, and, at the end of December, 
held the usual ‘‘convention’’ or ‘‘parliament’’ at Adyar. 
The full report of the sessions is contained in the ‘‘Sup- 
plement’’ to The Theosophist for January, 1889. 

After the admission that ‘‘the Annual Convention of 
the General Council has ceased to be, save in name, the 
true parliament or congress of the Branches,’’ the re- 
port nevertheless goes on to affirm that the ‘‘fair thing’’ 
was ‘‘evidently to extend the sectional scheme to ail 
countries,’’ while yet ‘‘keeping the Headquarters as the 
hub and the President-Founder as the axle of this wheel 
of many spokes under the car of Progress... with 
the central point where the President-Founder repre- 
sents and wields the executive authority of the entire 
undivided body known as the Theosophical Society.’’ 

‘‘The President-Founder’s Address’’ to the Conven- 
tion opens with an argument to show that he ‘‘should 
be left with the widest discretion’’ in the management 
of the Society. Col. Olcott sums up: 


The time has come when I should say, most 
distinctly and unequivocally, that since I am to 
stay and be responsible for the progress of the 
work, I shall not consent to any plan or scheme 
which hinders me in the performance of my offi- 
cial duty. 

. . . | have never interfered with the esoteric 
or metaphysical part, nor set myself up as a 
competent teacher. That is Madame Blavat- 
sky’s specialty; and the better to enunciate that 

163 


164 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


idea I have just issued an Order in Council in 
London creating an Hsoteric Section under her 
sole direction, as a body, or group, entirely sep- 
arate and distinct from the Society proper and 
involving the latter in no responsibilities to- 
ward those who might choose to enrol themselves 
in her list of adherents. 

... This is my determination: To be. 
loyal and staunch to the colleague you and I, 
and all of us know and a few of us appreciate 
at her true worth. This is my last word on that 
subject; but in saying it I do not mean to imply 
that I shall not freely use my own judgment, 
independently of Madame Blavatsky’s, in every 
case calling for my personal action, nor that I 
shall not ever be most willing and anxious to 
receive and profit by the counsel of every true 
person who has at heart the interests of the 
Society. JI cannot please all: it is folly to try; 
the wise man does his duty as he can see it before 
him. 


The Address gives in brief the story of the troubles 
in Paris and London. Though these events were then 
all fresh in his mind; though the Master’s words were 
still ringing in his ears; though the generous protec- 
tion of H.P.B. still enveloped him and enabled him to 
‘‘save his face’’ before the rank and file of the mem- 
bership—the attitude taken and view expressed testify 
the same invincible self-complacency that at last wholly 
absorbed the probationary chela in the President- 
Founder. Thus: 


It was by the Executive Council found ex- 
pedient that I should proceed to Europe and at- 
tempt to bring our affairs into order. We saw 
the Continental Branches languishing for lack 
of superintendence and reciprocal work, al- 
though there was reason to hope that the move- 
ment might be greatly strengthened and ex- 


WORK OF THE ESOTERIC SECTION 165 


panded under the proper organization. ... I 
formed new Branches ...; dischartered the 
old ‘‘Isis’?’ Branch at Paris and chartered a 
new one...; called two Conventions in Lon- 
don ...; organized and chartered a British 
Section of the Theosophical Society; and issued 
an order in Council forming an Esoteric Sec- 
tion of the Society, with Madame Blavatsky 
as its responsible head. The trouble in the Paris 
Branch was solely due—as we have almost in- 
variably found to be the case—to personal jeal- 
ousies and disagreements. The landmarks of 
the Society had been obliterated and forgotten; 
there had arisen a strife for supremacy, and, in- 
stead of setting the public an example of zealous 
fraternal union for the propagation of our ideas, 
the members had fallen to mutual abuse, oral and 
printed. Both parties were to blame, as I found 
after patient examination of the documents... 


In no part of Col. Olcott’s published statements is 
there a hint that might be construed that he at any time 
found himself in any way at fault; on the contrary, there 
is everywhere the continuous holding out of himself as 
the all-important factor in bringing order out of chaos, 
in holding the Society true to its purposes. Nowhere 
appears the faintest glimmer of perception that he him- 
self might be the weakest joint in the Society’s armor; 
that it was his failures as a probationer which were con- 
stantly upsetting his work as Executive. 

It is intensely interesting and instructive to turn from 
the Adyar parliament to the proceedings of the Conven- 
tion of the American Section in the April following. 
Delegates and proxies, democratically elected, were in 
attendance from all of the twenty-five active Lodges in 
the United States. The only one not represented was 
the Gnostic of Washington, D. C., controlled by Dr. 
Elliott Coues, whose case we shall shortly consider. 

The spirit and energizing direction of the American 
Section, the devotion to a Cause rather than to its in- 


166 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


strument, the Society, as contrasted with the work in 
India under Col. Olcott’s autocratic control, are well 
typified in Madame Blavatsky’s Letter to the Conven- 
tion, presented by Mr. Judge in these words: ‘‘I have 
received from our revered founder, Madame H. P. Bla- 
vatsky, a letter for this Convention . . . and beg to lay 
it before you.”’ 

The four Letters of H.P.B. to the Conventions of 
the American Section are unique. They are the only 
addresses of H.P.B. to any Theosophical bodies, for 
she never thus honored either the Indian, the British, 
or the European Sections. These Letters are the public 
authoritative statements by the Agent of the Masters 
in enunciation of the real basis of the Theosophical So- 
ciety and of all Theosophical endeavor, esoteric and 
exoteric. This second Letter was written soon after the 
issuance of the Preliminary Memorandum and First 
Instruction to the members of the Esoteric Section. 
The Letter shows the real spirit of the Movement in the 
West, the ever-existent dangers to be confronted, her 
insistent endeavor to keep the line energized in the true 
direction, and illustrates her exoteric handling of the 
situation. Thus: 


But you in America. Your Karma as a na- 
tion has brought Theosophy home to you. The 
life of the Soul, the psychic side of nature, is 
open to many of you. The life of altruism is 
not so much a high ideal as a matter of prac- 
tice. Naturally, then, Theosophy finds a home 
in many hearts and minds, and strikes a re- 
sounding harmony as soon as it reaches the ears 
of those who are ready to listen. There, then, 
is part of your work: to lift high the torch of 
the liberty of the Soul of Truth that all may see 
it and benefit by its light. 

Therefore it is that the Ethics of Theosophy 
are even more necessary to mankind than the 
scientific aspects of the psychic facts of nature 
and man... 


WORK OF THE ESOTERIC SECTION 167 


. .. Once before was growth checked in con- 
nection with the psychic phenomena, and there 
may yet come a time when the moral and ethical 
foundations of the Society may be wrecked in a 
similar way. What can be done to prevent such 
a thing is for each Fellow of the Society to 
make Theosophy a vital factor in their lives— 
to make it real, to weld its principles firmly into 
their lives—in short, to make it their own and 
treat the Theosophical Society as if it were 
themselves. Following closely on this is the ne- 
cessity for Solidarity among the Fellows of the 
Society; the acquisition of such a feeling of 
identity with each and all of our Brothers that 
an attack upon one is an attack upon all.... 


These statements were at once the recital of history, 
a warning, an admonition, and, as events have all too 
plainly proved, a prophecy. Where the danger ever 
lies, and how to meet it, are considered: 


We have external enemies to fight in the shape 
of materialism, prejudice, and obstinacy; the 
enemies in the shape of custom and religious 
forms; enemies too numerous to mention, but 
nearly as thick as the sand-clouds which are 
raised by the blasting Sirocco of the desert. 
Do we not need our strength against these foes? 
Yet, again, there are more insidious foes, who 
‘‘take our name in vain,’’ and who make The- 
osophy a by-word in the mouths of men and the 
Theosophical Society a mark at which to throw 
mud. They slander Theosophists and Theoso- 
phy, and convert the moral Ethics into a cloak 
to conceal their own selfish objects. And as if 
this were not sufficient, there are the worst foes 
of all—those of a man’s own household—Theoso- 
phists who are unfaithful both to the Society and 
to themselves... . 

Let us, for a moment, glance backwards at 


168 


THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


the ground we have passed over. We have had 
... to hold our own against the Spiritists, in 
the name of Truth and Spiritual Science. Not 
against the students of the true psychic knowl- 
edge, nor against the enlightened Spiritualists ; 
but against the lower order of phenomenalists— 
the blind worshippers of the illusionary phan- 
toms of the Dead. These we have fought for the 
sake of Truth, and also for that of the world 
which they were misleading. ... Unless pre- 
pared carefully by a long and special course of 
study, the experimentalist risks not only the 
medium’s soul but his own. The experiments 
made in Hypnotism and Mesmerism at the pres- 
ent time are experiments of unconscious, when 
not of conscious, Black Magic. The road is wide 
and broad which leads to such destruction; and 
it is but too easy to find; and only too many go 
ignorantly along it to their own destruction. 
But the practical cure of it lies in one thing. 
That is the course of study which I mentioned 
before. It sounds very simple, but it is emi- 
nently difficult; for that cure is ‘‘AuTRuIsM.’? 
And this is the key-note of Theosophy and the 
cure for all ills; this it is which the real founders 
of the Theosophical Society promote as its first 
object—UniversaL BrotHERHOOD. 

Thus even if only in name a body of Altruists, 
the Theosophical Society has to fight all who un- 
der its cover seek to obtain magical powers to 
use for their own selfish ends and to the hurt of 
others. Many are those who joined our Society 
for no other purpose than curiosity. Psycho- 
logical phenomena were what they sought, and 
they were unwilling to yield one iota of their 
own pleasure and habits to obtain them. These 
very quickly went away empty-handed. The 
Theosophical Society has never been and never 
will be a school of promiscuous Theurgic rites. 
But there are dozens of small occult Societies 


WORK OF THE ESOTERIC SECTION 


which talk very glibly of Magic, Occultism, 
Rosicrucians, Adepts, ete. These profess much, 
even to giving the key to the Universe, but end 
by leading men to a blank wall instead of the 
‘Door of the Mysteries.’’ These are some of 
our most insidious foes. Under cover of the 
philosophy of the Wisdom-Religion they man- 
age to get up a mystical jargon which for the 
time is effective and enables them, by the aid 
of a very small amount of clairvoyance, to fleece 
the mystically inclined but ignorant aspirants 
to the occult, and lead them like sheep in al- 
most any direction. .. But woe to those who 
try to convert a noble philosophy into a den of 
disgusting immorality, greediness for selfish 
power, and money-making under the cloak of 
Theosophy. Karma reaches them when least 
expected. But is it possible for our Society to 
stand by and remain respected, unless its mem- 
bers are prepared, at least in future, to stand 
like one man, and deal with such slanders upon 
themselves as true Theosophists, and such vile 
caricatures of their highest ideals . . .? 

But in order that we may be able to effect this 
working on behalf of our common cause, we have 
to sink all private differences. Many are the 
energetic members . . . who wish to work and to 
work hard. But the price of their assistance is 
that all the work must be done in their way and 
not in anyone else’s way. And if this is not ear- 
ried out they sink back into apathy or leave the 
Society entirely, loudly declaring that they are 
the only true Theosophists. Or, if they remain, 
they endeavor to exalt their own method of 
working at the expense of all other earnest work- 
ers. This is fact, but itis not Theosophy. There 
can be no other end to it than that the growth 
of the Society will soon be split up into vari- 
ous sects, as many as there are leaders. . . . Is 
this prospect one to look forward to... ? Is 


169 


170 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


this ‘‘Separateness’’ consonant with the united 
Altruism of Universal Brotherhood? Is this 
the teaching of our noble Mastrrrs? 


The Letter contained a public reference to the Hso- 
teric Section in these words: 


As many of you are aware, we have formed 
the ‘‘EHsoteric Section.’’ Its members are 
pledged, among other things, to work for The- 
osophy under my direction. By it, for one thing, 
we have endeavored to secure some solidarity in 
our common work; to form a strong body of re- 
sistance against attempts to injure us on the 
part of the outside world, against prejudice 
against the Theosophical Society and against 
me personally. By its means much may be done 
to nullify the damage to the work of the So- 
ciety in the past and to vastly further its work 
in the future. 


The Letter closes: 


And now a last and parting word. My words 
may and will pass and be forgotten, but certain 
sentences from letters written by the Masters 
will never pass, because they are the embodiment 
of the highest practical Theosophy. I must 
translate them for you:— 

‘“’ . . Let not the fruit of good Karma be 
your motive; for your Karma, good or bad, 
being one and the common property of all 
mankind, nothing good or bad can happen to 
you that is not shared by many others. Hence 
your motive, being selfish, can only generate 
a double effect, good and bad, and will either 
nullify your good action, or turn it to another 
man’s profit. .. . There is no happiness for 
one who is ever thinking of Self and forgetting 
all other Selves. 


WORK OF THE ESOTERIC SECTION 171 


‘‘The Universe groans under the weight of 
such action (Karma), and none other than 
self-sacrificial Karma relieves it... . How 
many of you have helped humanity to carry 
its smallest burden, that you should all re- 
gard yourselves as Theosophists? Oh, men of 
the West, who would play at being the Saviors 
of mankind before they even spare the life of 
a mosquito whose sting threatens them! 
would you be partakers of Divine Wisdom or 
true Theosophists? Then do as the gods when 
incarnated do. Feel yourselves the vehicles of 
the whole humanity, mankind as part of your- 
selves, and act accordingly... .’’ 


These are golden words; may you assimilate 
them! This is the hope of one who signs her- 
self most sincerely the devoted sister and ser- 
vant of every true follower of the Masters of 
Theosophy. 


To any sincere student of today the thirty years of 
history intervening since the date of this Letter furnish 
their own confirmation and commentary on the prevision, 
the spiritual insight, the practical common sense and the 
never-dying courage of H.P.B. They show, as noth- 
ing else does or can do, the overwhelming need for a 
return to the Source of all true Theosophical inspiration 
and endeavor. This from the exoteric standpoint alone. 
Permissible extracts from the Prelimmary Memorandum 
to the E.S. applicants show her esoteric treatment of 
the same problems: 

Immediately following upon the publication in Lucifer 
of the Notice of the formation of the Hsoteric Section, 
H.P.B. sent out to all applicants a formal communica- 
tion, marked as were all subsequent papers of the Sec- 
tion, strictly private and confidential. It contained an 
introductory statement, a summary entitled ‘‘Rules of 
the Esoteric Section (Probationary) of the Theosophi- 
eal Society,’’ the ‘‘Pledge of Probationers in the Eso- 


172 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


teric Section,’’ and some preliminary questions and re- 
quirements to be responded to by the applicant. The 
introductory paragraphs read as follows: 


I forward you herewith a copy of the Rules 
and Pledge for Probationers of the Esoteric Sec- 
tion of the TS. 

Should you be unable to accept them, I re- 
quest that you will return this to me without 
delay. 


The Rules referred to recite, amongst others, that no 
one will be admitted who is not a Fellow of the T.S.; 
that applications for membership in the Esoteric Sec- 
tion must be accompanied by a copy of the Pledge ‘‘writ- 
ten out and signed by the Candidate, who thereupon 
enters upon a special period of probation, which com- 
mences from the date of his signature’’; that ‘‘all mem- 
bers shall be approved by the Head of the Section’’— 
16 El peed be 

Some hundreds of the most active and earnest Fel- 
lows of the T.S. complied with all the formal require- 
ments above outlined, sent in their Pledges, and entered 
upon their special period of probation. H.P.B. for- 
warded to all these the First Preliminary Memorandum 
of the Section. This remarkable document has either 
been suppressed, altered or ignored, like the Pledge 
and Rules of the original School, by its unworthy ‘‘suc- 
cessors’’; while its plain statements of facts, its prescient 
presentments of principles and their applications to the 
then present and future, now the past, the present, and 
the future, have been deliberatly disregarded and 
corrupted. 

The Prelimmary Memorandum tells the probationers 
the impelling occasion for the step taken: 


.. . At this stage it is perhaps better that the 
applicants should learn the reason for the 
formation of this Section, and what it is ex- 
pected to achieve. 


WORK OF THE ESOTERIC SECTION 


The Theosophical Society had just entered 
upon the fourteenth year of its existence; and 
if it had accomplished great, one may almost 
say stupendous, results on the exoteric and utili- 
tarian plane, it had proved a dead failure on 
all those points which rank foremost among the 
objects of its original establishment. Thus, as 
a ‘‘Universal Brotherhood,’’ or even as a fra- 
ternity, one among many, it had descended to 
the level of all those societies whose preten- 
sions are great, but whose names are simply 
masks—nay, even SHams. Nor can the excuse 
be pleaded that it was led into such an undigni- 
fied course owing to its having been impeded in 
its natural development, and almost extin- 
guished, by reason of the conspiracies of its 
enemies openly begun in 1884. Because even be- 
fore that date there never was that solidarity 
in the ranks of our Society which would not only 
enable it to resist all external attacks, but also 
make it possible for greater, wider and more 
tangible help to be given to all its members by 
Those who are always ready to give help when 
we are fit to receive it. When trouble arose, 
too many were quick to doubt and despair, and 
few indeed were they who had worked for the 
Cause and not for themselves. The attacks of 
the enemy have given the Society some discre- 
tion in the conduct of its external progress but 
its real internal condition has not improved, and 
the members, in their efforts toward spiritual 
culture still require that help which solidarity in 
the ranks can alone give them the right to ask. 
The Masters can give but little assistance to a 
Body not thoroughly united in purpose and feel- 
ing, and which breaks its first fundamental rule 
—universal brotherly love, without distinction 
of race, creed, colour or caste, 2. e., the social dis- 
tinctions made in the world; nor to a Society, 
many members of which pass their lives in judg- 


173 


174 


THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


ing, condemning, and often reviling other mem- 
bers in a most untheosophical, not to say dis- 
graceful, manner. 

For this reason it was decided to gather the 
‘“elect’’ of the T.S., and to call them to action. 
It is only by a select group of brave souls, a 
handful of determined men and women hungry 
for genuine spiritual development and the ac- 
quirement of soul-wisdom, that the Theosophical 
Society at large can be brought back to its orig- 
inal lines. It is through an Hsoteric Section 
alone—t.e., a group in which all the members, 
even if unacquainted with one another, work for 
each other, and by working for all work for 
themselves—that the great Exoteric Society 
may be redeemed and made to realize that in 
union and harmony alone lie its strength and 
power. The object of this Section, then, is to 
help the future growth of the Theosophical So- 
ciety as a whole in the true direction, by pro- 
moting brotherly union at least among a choice 
minority. 

All know that this end was in view when the 
Society was established, and even in its mere 
unpledged ranks there was a possibility of de- 
velopment and knowledge, until it began to show 
want of real union; and now it must be saved 
from future dangers by the united aim, brotherly 
feeling, and constant exertions of the members 
of this Esoteric Section. Once offered the grand 
example of practical altruism, of the noble lives 
of those who learn to master the great knowl- 
edge but to help others, and who strive to ac- 
quire powers but to place them at the service of 
their fellow-men, and the whole Theosophical 
community may yet be steered into action, and 
led to follow the example set before them. 

The Hsoteric Section is thus ‘‘set apart’’ 
for the salvation of the whole Society, and its 
course from its first step is an arduous and 


WORK OF THE ESOTERIC SECTION Dae 


uphill work for its members, though a great re- 
ward lies behind the many obstacles once they 
are overcome. 


To allay any misapprehensions due to widespread er- 
roneous ideas regarding chelaship and asceticism while 
at the same time placing before the Candidates the seri- 
ousness of the steps contemplated and the absolutely 
essential prerequisites to any real solidarity or indi- 
vidual evolution, several paragraphs are devoted to di- 
rect plain speaking on these subjects. Thus the Candi- 
dates are told that one object of the Memorandum— 


... 1s to give timely warning to any applicant, 
should he feel unable or unwilling to accept fully 
and without reserve, the instructions which may 
be given, or the consequences that may result, 
and to do the duties whose performance shall 
be asked. It is but fair to state at once that such 
duties will never interfere with, nor encroach 
upon, the probationer’s family duties; on the 
other hand, it is certain that every member of the 
Esoteric Section will have to give up more than 
one personal habit, such as practised in social 
life, and adopt some few ascetic rules. 


Those who may be seeking ‘‘powers’’ and ‘‘Occult 
preferment’’ are advised: 


This degree of the Esoteric Section is pro- 
bationary, and its general purpose is to pre- 
pare and fit the student for the study of practi- 
cal Occultism or Raja Yoga. Therefore, in this 
degree the student—save in exceptional cases— 
will not be taught how to produce physical phe- 
nomena, nor will any magical powers be allowed 
to develop in him; nor, if possessing such pow- 
ers naturally, will he be permitted to exercise 
them before he has mastered the knowledge of 
Ser, of the psycho-physiological processes .. . 


176 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


in the human body generally, and until he has in 
abeyance all his lower passions and his Psr- 
SONAL SELF... . 

Each person will receive in the way of en- 
lightenment and assistance, just as much as he or 
she deserves, and no more; and it is to be dis- 
tinctly understood that in this Section and these 
relations no such thing is known as favour— 
all depends upon the person’s merits—and no 
member has the power or knowledge to decide 
what either he or she is entitled to. This must 
be left to those who know—alone. The appar- 
ent favour shown to some, and their conse- 
quent apparent advancement, will be due to the 
work they do, to the best of their power, in the 
cause of Universal Brotherhood and the eleva- 
tion of the Race. 

No man or woman is asked or expected to do 
any more than is his or her best; but each is ex- 
pected to work to the extent of his ability and 
powers. 

The value of the work of this Section to the 
individual member will depend upon: 

Ist. The person’s power to assimilate the 
teachings and make them a part of his being; 
and 

2nd. Upon the unselfishness of the motives 
with which he seeks for his knowledge; that is 
to say, upon whether he has entered this Sec- 
tion determined to work for humanity, or with 
only the desire to benefit or gain something for 
himself. 


The Book of Rules supplied to each Candidate with 
the Preliminary Memorandum provided specifically 
amongst other things, that the various Groups into 
which those accepted were to be formed were not for 
practical Occultism, but for mutual study of the In- 
structions and help in the Theosophice life; gossip, deroga- 
tory statements, and the repetition of slanderous and 


WORK OF THE ESOTERIC SECTION 177 


hearsay statements were strictly forbidden; the dan- 
gers and evils of cant, hypocrisy, and injustice to others 
were enforced; claims of Occult powers, boasting or 
speaking of Occult experiences, whether falsely or truly, 
discountenanced under penalty; the widest charity, tol- 
erance, and mutual consideration and helpfulness laid 
down as the sine qua non of all true progress. ‘‘The 
first test of true apprenticeship,’’ said the Rule on that 
subject, ‘‘is devotion to the interest of another,’’ and 
continued: 


For these doctrines to practically re-act on the 
life through the so-called moral code or the ideas 
of truthfulness, purity, self-denial, charity, etc., 
we have to preach and popularize a knowledge of 
Theosophy. It is not the individual or deter- 
mined purpose of attaining oneself Nirvana, 
which is, after all, only an exalted and glorious 
selfishness, but the self-sacrificing pursuit of the 
best means to lead our neighbour on the right 
path, and cause as many of our fellow creatures 
as we possibly can to benefit by it, which con- 
stitutes the true Theosophist. 


CHAPTER XII 
MABEL COLLINS AND PROFESSOR COUES 


By 1889, despite all obstacles and all limitations, 
despite all the guerilla warfare of antagnostic elements 
and all the heavy artillery of the numerous ‘‘exposures’’ 
of H.P.B., the Theosophical Movement had gained such 
headway that the word ‘‘Theosophy’’ was part of the 
vocabulary of every intelligent person. The Theosophi- 
eal Society was established in every civilized country and 
in every large city; the public announcement of the 
Esoteric Section had drawn the attention of the mysti- 
eally inclined to the fact of the existence of a definite 
school of Occult instruction. The student will have poorly 
gauged the force of the powerful metaphysical current 
at work if he is not prepared for a more striking example 
of the real Theosophical phenomena than any so far 
produced. The great storm of 1889-90 does not vary in 
essentials from those which preceded it. The drama is 
the same. 

Originally a newspaper writer and novelist, Miss Mabel 
Collins, then a young woman, had joined the London 
Lodge in 1884. Imaginative and sensitive in tempera- 
ment she became intensely interested, not in Theosophy, 
but in the ‘‘ psychical activities’’ pursued by many of the 
members of that Lodge. During that year she produced 
‘‘The Idyll of the White Lotus.’’ This was followed, 
early in 1885, by ‘‘Light on the Path, a Treatise written 
for the personal use of those who are ignorant of the 
Hastern Wisdom, and who desire to enter within its in- 
fluence. Written down by M. C., Fellow of the Theosophi- 
cal Society.’’ As this was the first and up to that time 
the only, apparently simple and direct statement of the 
Rules of practical Occultism, and as it was plainly hinted 

178 


MABEL COLLINS AND COUES 179 


that the book was ‘‘inspired’’ it attracted immediate at- 
tention. Moreover, its inherent merit, the sustained 
beauty of its diction, the noble simplicity of its expression 
of the loftiest ethics, the moral grandeur of the ideals 
submitted as within the reach of human attainment, at 
once gave it rank as a Theosophical classic. ‘‘Through 
the Gates of Gold,’’ from the same pen, appeared in 1887. 
In the autumn of the same year, when Madame Blavatsky 
began the publication of Lucifer, the name of Mabel 
Collins appeared with her own as Editor. In view of 
the circumstances it was but natural that Theosophists 
everywhere should hold Miss Collins in the highest re- 
spect and regard. 

When, therefore, with the issue of February 15, 1889, 
the name of Mabel Collins disappeared from Lucifer, 
it was inevitable that a furor of curiosity and interest 
should set in. This was accentuated by the fact that 
Miss Collins retired to privacy and gave no hint as to 
the cause of the breach; Lucifer gave no explanations 
and made no comments; Mr. Judge’s Path and Col. Ol- 
cott’s Theosophist remained equally silent. There the 
matter rested, so far as concerned public knowledge of 
events ‘‘behind the scenes,’’ until the month of May. 

On May 11, 1889, there appeared in the Religio-Phil- 
osophacal Journal a letter from Dr. Elliott Coues, em- 
bodying a letter to him from Miss Mabel Collins. The 
Religio-Philosophical Journal was an old established and 
leading Spiritualist publication printed at Chicago and 
edited by Col. Bundy, a life-long Spiritualist and a friend 
of Prof. Coues. Colonel Bundy had been admitted to 
membership in the Theosophical Society in 1885, on the 
recommendation of Prof. Coues and was a member of 
the Gnostic Branch of the T.S., at Washington, D. C., a 
Branch founded by Prof. Coues who was and had been its 
President from the beginning. The Religio-Philosophical 
Journal had previously given publicity to attacks upon 
H.P.B., by W. Emmette Coleman, whose life was for 
many years chiefly devoted to that purpose. 

The Coues-Collins letters, and other communications 
from the same source in later issues of the Religio-Phil- 


180 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


osophical Journal, made grave charges against H.P.B., 
—grave in themselves, and doubly so from the reputation 
of those who made them. 

Of Catholic family and education, Prof. Coues was a 
university graduate and originally by profession an 
American Army surgeon attached to various posts and 
expeditions. Highly educated, exceedingly versatile, of 
independent means, he became interested in various 
branches of science and pursued his studies and investi- 
gations to such good purpose that he soon ranked as an 
authority on many subjects. He published various books 
and was invited to edit that portion of the ‘‘Century 
Dictionary’’ dealing with his specialties. Early in the 
80’s of the last century, while still in the prime of 
life, he awakened to an interest in psychical research, 
and conducted many experiments of his own with chosen 
‘“subjects.’’ He early became a member of the London 
Society for Psychical Research and was in London in the 
summer of 1884, at the time the §.P.R. Committee was 
making its preliminary investigation and report on the 
Theosophical phenomena. He sought out Col. Oleott who 
was naturally rejoiced to make his acquaintance, and find- 
ing his interest, to induct him into membership in the 
Theosophical Society. In company with Col. Olcott, Prof. 
Coues and his wife journeyed to Elberfeld, Germany to 
meet H.P.B., who was at the time with the trusted and 
trusting Gebhards. A great and spontaneous affection 
sprang up between Mrs. Coues and H.P.B.—an affection 
which never lapsed, on the one side or on the other. 

Professor Coues met Col. Olcott again at London and 
was appointed a member of the newly constituted Ameri- 
ean Board of Control of the Theosophical Society. On 
his return to the United States he established the Gnostic 
Branch of the T.S. In 1885 he was active in the forma- 
tion of the American Society for Psychical Research 
along the same lines of inquiry as pursued by its Brit- 
ish predecessor. He was elected Chairman of the Ameri- 
can Board of Control of the T.S., and in the midst of 
his multifarious activities in other directions busied him- 
self in correspondence with members of the Society. Of 


MABEL COLLINS AND COUES 181 


engaging manners and distinguished appearance, as ex- 
cellent a speaker as he was brilliant a writer, he was a 
very popular lecturer and gave many addresses before 
scientific bodies, clubs, and other associations. Although 
he never made any distinctly Theosophical addresses 
there runs through all his lectures of the period a defi- 
nite note of inquiry and suggestion of broader fields of 
investigation than those passing current under the name 
of ‘‘science.’’ Although he was not a contributor to the 
Theosophical literature of the times, as editor of the 
‘Biogen Series’’ he brought out an American edition of 
Col. Oleott’s ‘‘Buddhist Catechism,’’ republished the 
monograph, ‘‘Can Matter Think?’’ and published with 
an introduction and notes by himself Robert Dodsley’s 
‘‘True and Complete Giconomy of Human Life,’’ origi- 
nally issued at London in 1750. To this reprint he added 
the subtitle, ‘‘Based on the System of Theosophical 
Ethics.’’ This phrase, his use of the name ‘‘Kuthumi’’ 
—a variant spelling of Koot Hoomi, the Mahatma to 
whom Mr. Sinnett’s ‘‘Occult World’’ is dedicated—some 
questionable expressions in his introduction and notes, 
and his personal prominence and known affiliation with 
the Theosophical Society, gave Mr. Judge occasion to 
insert in The Path for July, 1886, two references, one a 
review complimentary to the ‘‘Biogen Series’’ and to 
Prof. Coues personally, and the other a correction of pos- 
sible misconceptions in the following words: 


The association of the name Kuthumi with the 
book, so perplexing to understand, is not a bio- 
graphical fact, as Prof. Coues explains in his 
‘‘foreword’’ (p. 10). It only remains to state 
clearly what is implied in the foreword that the 
Theosophical Society has no special code of 
morals, ready made and rigorously defined, for 
the acceptance of its members on admission. 


By the summer of 1886, it became evident that the 
Board of Control, originally promulgated by Col. Ol- 
cott at Mr. Judge’s request in order to avoid delay in 


182 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


the conduct of the official routine of the American 
Branches, was, in the hands of Prof. Coues, a mere ex- 
change of the paternal autocracy of Col. Olcott for the 
arbitrary autocracy of Prof. Coues. Mr. Judge had re- 
course to H.P.B. and Col. Olcott, and at a meeting of 
the Board of Control, held at Rochester, N. Y., at the 
house of Mrs. Cables on July 4, 1886, additional ‘‘orders’’ 
from Col. Oleott and his Indian General Council were pre- 
sented by Mr. Judge, calling for a revised plan whereby 
an American Section of the General Council was to be 
formed. In this American Council was to be merged 
the Board of Control, the members of which, as also the 
Presidents of Branches, were to become ex officio mem- 
bers of the American Council. Provision was also to be 
made for the election of additional members of the Amer- 
ican Council by the votes of the members of the Society. 

Notwithstanding this promulgation, Prof. Coues, im- 
mediately after his return to his home, issued of his own 
motion the following: 


AMERICAN Boarp or ConTROL—OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT. 
Wasuineton, D. C., July 12, 1886. 


It is desired that The Occult Word become the official 
organ of the American Board of Control of the The- 
osophical Society. 

Correspondents having notes and news respecting the 
Society in America are requested to send them to The 
Occult Word. Members and others having the interests 
of the Society at heart will do well to extend the cir- 
culation of The Occult Word. 

Contributors of articles upon speculative, doctrinal, 
or operative Theosophy will be individually responsible 
therefor, as heretofore. 

Eu10oTr Covss, President. 


It was already an open secret that Mrs. Cables, Edi- 
tor of The Occult Word, another member of the Board 
of Control, and her associate, Mr. Brown, were disaf- 


MABEL COLLINS AND COUES 183 


fected with the ‘‘ Theosophical Mahatmas,’’ a disaffection 
which burst into flame a few months later, as has been 
narrated in an earlier chapter.’ 

In The Path, for August, 1886, Mr. Judge, knowing 
well the tangential activities of Prof. Coues, Mrs. Cables, 
and others, published in the section, ‘‘Reviews and 
Notes,’’ an article, ‘‘Theosophy in the Press,’’ in which, 
after noting the sudden appearance within a few months 
of many articles in the daily papers ‘‘full of misstate- 
ments mixed with ignorance of . . . Theosophy,’’ he goes 
on to say: 


But some Theosophists have been guilty of 
ventilating in the papers the statement that 
Theosophy is astralism, that is to say, that the 
object of the Society is to induce people to go 
into the study and practice of spirit raising, 
cultivating the abnormal faculties, of clairvoy- 
ance and the like, ignoring entirely the prime ob- 
ject, real end, aim and raison d’étre of the move- 
ment—universal brotherhood and ethical teach- 
ing. In fact, we make bold to assert, from our 
own knowledge and from written documents, 
that the Mahatmas, who started the Society, and 
who stand behind it now, are distinctly opposed 
to making prominent these phenomenal leanings, 
this hunting after clairvoyance and astral bod- 
ies, and they have so declared most unmistak- 
ably, stating their wish and advice to be, that 
‘the Society should prosper on its ethical, phil- 
osophical and moral worth alone.’’ 

Theosophists should haste to see that this 
false impression created at large, that it is a 
dangerous study, or that it is any way danger- 
ous, or that we conceal our reasons for doing 
what we are doing, is done away with... . If 
one or two persons in the Society imagine that 
the pursuit of psychical phenomena is its real 
end and aim and so declare, that weighs nothing 

*See Chapter VIII. 


184 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


against the immense body of the membership or 
against its widespread literature; it is merely 
their individual bias. 

But at the same time, this imagination and 
misstatement are dangerous, and insidiously so. 
It is just the impression which the Jesuit college 
desires to be spread abroad concerning us, so 
that in one place ridicule may follow, and in an- 
other superstitious dread of the thing; which 
ever of these may happen to obtain, they would 
be equally well pleased. 

Let Theosophists attend to this, and let them 
not forget, that the only authoritative state- 
ments of what are the ends and objects of the 
Society are contained in those printed in its by- 
laws. No amount of assertion to the contrary 
by any officer or member can change that 
declaration. 


In the September, 1886, number of The Path was 
printed the notice of the receipt of the ‘‘formal orders’’ 
to form the American Council. On this Mr. Judge com- 
ments: 


This action is eminently wise, as the term 
Board of Control was misleading, inasmuch as 
the very foundation of the Society is democratic 
in its nature, and control savored too much of 
form, ceremonies, discipline, officers, secret re- 
ports and all the paraphernalia of an established 
church. 


The expression ‘‘Board of Control’’ was Col. Olcott’s 
coinage. ‘The various stages recounted were accepted by 
Mr. Judge as necessary intermediate steps in the effort 
to arrive at real democracy among the American The- 
osophists. Colonel Olcott was at all times loath to sur- 
render his ‘‘paternal government’’ of the Society as a 
whole, and he acceded to the gradual democratization of 
the Society in America only under the steady pressure 


MABEL COLLINS AND COUES 185 


of Mr. Judge, reinforced by the insistence of H.P.B. 
He at last consented to issue his ‘‘official order’’ for the 
formation of the American Section of the Theosophical 
Society, and at a meeting of the Board of Control, held 
at Cincinnati in October, 1886, and attended also by dele- 
gates and members from numerous Branches, the ar- 
rangements were perfected for the first Convention at 
New York City in April, 1887, at which elected delegates 
from all the Branches were present, adopted a constitu- 
tion, and elected officers and a Council. The first formal 
Convention was held the next year, April, 1888, at 
Chicago. 

Meantime a ‘‘lively interchange of letters,’’ as ‘‘Old 
Diary Leaves’’ phrases it, had been going on, not only 
between H.P.B. and Col. Olcott over the threatening 
breach between them on matters of policy and the forth- 
coming Esoteric Section, but as well among Prof. Coues, 
Mr. Judge, Col. Olcott, and H.P.B. over affairs in Amer- 
ica—as may readily be inferred from what has been 
stated.” 

There can be no doubt that Col. Olcott, impressed by 
the prominence and ability of Prof. Coues, sympathized 
with that gentleman, whose views were entirely con- 
genial to him. Nor can it, we think, be doubted that 
Prof. Coues, fully informed as to Col. Olcott’s feelings, 
those of Mr. Sinnett and others, may well have concluded 
that he had but to lead in the coming battle, and all the 
disaffected would openly as well as secretly support him. 
Able, audacious, and subtle, he was writing in one strain 
to Col. Olcott, in another to H.P.B., and in a third to 
Mr. Judge. Like so many others he was entirely unaware 
that H.P.B. and Mr. Judge, working as one in the Cause 
dear to them, made no moves, the one without the other, 
nor ever wrote letters or other communications on moot 
Theosophical matters without supplying each other with 
copies. Nor was it conceivable to him or to many others 
prominent in the Society that the Occultism of H.P.B. 
and Mr. Judge was genuine and not spurious or medium- 
istic. 

*See Chapters IX and X. 


186 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


Colonel Olcott, honest to the core, loyal in his better 
moments to both his colleagues, was yet, by reason of 
his personal weaknesses and past life, almost wholly 
susceptible to the arts of those who knew how to play 
and prey upon his vanity, his fears and doubts concern- 
ing the welfare of his beloved Society, of which he had 
long since constituted himself the tutelary deity. Much 
may be read and inferred of the unwritten history of 
this period from the following extract from one of the 
President-Founder’s letters to Prof. Coues: 


Another warning: Beware how you encourage 
H.P.B. to act outside her special province of 
mystical research and esoteric teaching. The 
Council will stand no nonsense, nor shall I ratify 
a single order or promise of hers made inde- 
pendently of me and my full antecedent posses- 
sion of the facts. She telegraphed to abolish the 
Board of Control and had just issued a revolu- 
tionary commission to Arthur Gebhard with 
an idiotic disregard of the proprieties and her 
own position. She seems a Bourbon as to mem- 
ory and receptivity and fancies the old halcyon 
days are not gone. I shall neither ratify what 
she has done, nor anything of the sort she may 
in future do. Within her domain she is queen; 
outside that—well, fill in the blank yourself. 
Several attempts have been made to get her to 
set up a rival society. . . . She has not yet been 
fool enough to fall into the trap, nor do I think 
her brain will soften to the point of doing it. She 
would thereby take a life-contract for a fight; 

. and find herself with enfeebled health, ad- 
vanced years and a tainted reputation recom- 
mencing our work of 1875, without, pardon me, 
an Olcott to stick to her, as I have, through thick 
and thin and bear shame and disgrace with mute 
endurance.® 


* The Sun, New York, July 20, 1890. The authenticity of this letter, 
published by Prof. Coues, was never disputed by Col. Olcott. 


MABEL COLLINS AND COUES 18% 


At the Chicago Convention at the end of April, 1888, 
Prof. Coues was present as a delegate and President 
of the Gnostic Branch of the T.S. He was elected 
Chairman of the Convention and presided over its ses- 
sions. The newspapers of the city gave a good deal of 
space to the proceedings and reporters were present at 
all of the open meetings. Following the Convention the 
Chicago Tribune published, without disclosing the source 
from which it had received them, a letter and facsimile 
of an alleged ‘‘message from a Mahatma”’ to Dr. Coues. 
Naturally this aroused considerable passing curiosity 
among the general public, and a very decided interest 
among American Theosophists. No public notice was 
taken of the matter either by H.P.B. or Mr. Judge, but 
the latter wrote privately to Dr. Coues, who responded 
as follows, under date of May 21, 1888: 


My dear Judge:—I think that on reflection 
you will find yourself a little hasty in pitching 
into me about that Tribune matter. 

.. . Now I saw that letter of which you com- 
plain fall down from the air over a person’s 
head, precisely in the same manner as you have 
seen a like letter fall—one, of which we have 
since heard a good deal. The writing on one 
side was in that peculiar hand which I have 
learned to recognize in several expressions of 
the will of the Blessed Masters which you have 


been good enough to send me. . . . The writing 
on the other side must have been subsequently 
precipitated and the seal affixed.... If K. H. 


had not wished about 75,000 persons to be ad- 
vised of the mode in which he brought about the 
Convention in Chicago he could easily have de- 
materialized that document. . . . It was clearly 
the will of the Brotherhood that the T.S. should 
be thus broadly advertised—and no doubt it 
would also be by the will of the same august 
personages, if the ‘‘Religio’’* for example 


***Religio’’ means the Religio-Philosophical Journal. 


188 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


should contain some day a column or two ex- 
plaining the delicate and mysterious manner in 
which rice-paper communications are ‘‘precipi- 
tated’’ out of the Akasa. 


This is clearly a tacit admission on Coues’ part that 
he furnished the ‘‘message’’ to the Tribune, that he 
‘‘saw’’ it precipitated, and an insinuation that he had 
received from Mr. Judge similar ‘‘messages.’’ To Dr. 
Coues’ letter Mr. Judge replied intimating that the whole 
tale, ‘‘messages’’ and all, originated in Dr. Coues’ own 
brain. Under date of June 11, 1888, Prof. Coues re- 
plied to Mr. Judge’s warnings: 


Dear Judge :—But now comes another trouble. 
It appears, and not from ‘‘Coues’ brain,’’ but 
from a much more material and very likely much 
stupider source, that you have been opposing my 
long standing candidacy for the esoteric presi- 
dency, in order to keep the ostensible control 
of T.S. in your own hand and make yourself 
the real or actual head of the concern in Ameri- 
ca, leaving me only as a figure-head; and I am 
referred to all and any newspaper reports which 
emanate from the Aryan ® or yourself, as care- 
fully suppressing or at least not putting forward 
my name, ete. 


It had become very well known amongst members of 
the T.S. in the United States that Dr. Coues, in the 
course of his personal propaganda had broadly hinted 
at his own Occult relations with the Mahatmas, and as 
neither Mr. Judge nor H.P.B. in any way confirmed his 
claims, more or less questioning and suspicion arose in 
regard to him and his ulterior purposes. Thus ‘‘hoist 
with his own petard,’’ Dr. Coues endeavored to turn his 
tactics to better advantage in the attempt to gain for 


°**Aryan’’ means the Aryan Theosophical Society of New York City, 
the re-organization of the parent T.S. Mr. Judge was President of the 
Aryan Society. 


MABEL COLLINS AND COUES 189 


himself the powerful support of H.P.B. in his ambition 
to be the public head of the Society in America, and as 
part of his campaign to enfold Mr. Judge in the soiled 
robes of his own pretended ‘‘messages.’’ H.P.B. re- 
plied guardedly to his communications; agreeing where 
she could with Coues’ strictures and criticisms on Col. 
Olcott, Mr. Judge, and the ‘‘management’’ of the Society ; 
encouraging him to live up to his own protestations of 
loyalty, influence, and devotion to the Society; ignoring 
his egotism and blandishments; correcting him only where 
the issue raised was point-blank. On Christmas Day, 
1888, he wrote her a bombastic and fulsome letter. Mr. 
Judge was at the time in England with H.P.B.; Col. 
Olcott, furious with her action in the Paris T.S. and 
her plain speaking with him, had just departed after his 
‘‘pitched battle’’ with her, and his reconciliation due 
chiefly to the Master’s Letter, as has already been told.® 
Col. Olcott had been in communication with Prof. Coues 
and had poured out his feelings as we have seen. Prof. 
Coues’ Christmas letter to H.P.B. was intended to avail 
himself of the supposed strained relations all around. 
We quote his closing phrases: 


Is your ‘‘first-born,’’ the meek Hibernian 
Judge,’ still with your majesty? Give my love 
to him and say, I don’t get up very early, but I 
stay up very late. I am glad you made it all 
right with your psychologized baby Olcott when 
he was with you... . 

And after all, dear H.P.B., I am really very 
fond and very proud of you, and admire your 
genius as only a man of genius can. So here’s 
my blessing, and all good wishes, for the great- 
est woman of this age, who is born to redeem 
her times, and go down to everlasting historical 
fame. 

Ever yours, still in the psychic maelstrom, 

Darius Hystaspss II. 


*See Chapter X. 
™Mr. Judge was of Irish parentage and birth. 


190 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


In one of her letters to Dr. Coues, H.P.B. had called 
Mr. Judge her first-born; Col. Olcott she had spoken 
of as a psychologized baby when referring to the effects 
upon him of his twenty years’ dabbling with mediums 
and his never-ending thirst for phenomena. Darius 
Hystaspes II was a favorite signature of Dr. Coues in 
writing to H.P.B., as Dr. Faustus was in his letters to 
Mr. Judge. 

On April 16, 1889, just prior to the Convention of the 
American Section for that year, Dr. Coues wrote H.P.B. 
a long letter detailing his own greatness and influence, 
the strength of his Gnostic Branch (it had some thirty 
members all told, at the time, none of them active The- 
osophically), and with half-veiled threats tried to induce 
her to ask the American Theosophists to place him at 
their head. Thus: 


You appear to have been misinformed or un- 
informed respecting the Gnostic and_ its 
Branches, as well as my own work in your be- 
half. Both in numbers and in quality of its 
membership, the Gnostic is unquestionably the 
leading Branch of the T.S. in the country. Its 
members are for the most part of a high, re- 
fined, educated, and influential class in society, 
in science and before the world, and most of 
them are indefatigable in working for the cause 
to which your own great and noble life is de- 
voted. I am satisfied that if you would do your 
part to give my Gnostics their just dues and 
recognition, they and I can lift Theosophy clear 
of the mud which has been thrown upon it and 
set your own self in a proper light before the 
world. We all feel keenly the abuse and perse- 
cution to which you have been subjected, and 
anxious to do you full justice and honor. But 
they are unanimously dissatisfied with the way 
the society is run at present, and they wonder 


MABEL COLLINS AND COUES 191 


where your Intuition can be, that you fail to 
see where your obvious advantage lies, in not 
strengthening and holding up the hands of their 
representative man [Prof. Coues] . . . Be wise 
now and be warned in time; you are a very great 
woman, who should be quick to see that this is 
no ordinary occasion. I tell you frankly, it is 
possible that all this prestige, social and personal 
and professional influence, scientific attainment 
and public interest, can be thrown on the side 
of the T.S., as at present constituted, or can 
be switched off on a new track aside from the old 
lines. If you cannot Sze this, and understand it, 
and act accordingly, there is nothing more for 
me to say, and I must presume that you do not 
care for my people. Judge and I came to a 
fair understanding once, and I was carrying out 
our agreement in good faith, and all was smooth, 
when something or other, affecting the ques- 
tion of the Presidency, interfered, and since then 
there has been nothing but friction and misun- 
derstanding in the ‘‘ Esoteric’? T.S.—which you 
know consisted of yourself, myself, and Judge: 
and your issue of a new and different ‘‘esoteric’’ 
manifesto did not mend matters. Now be wise 
and Pouitic.... The T.S. in America is at 
present a HnapiEess monstrosity: it must have a 
visible, official head to represent its real, in- 
visible source. You know whom the majority of 
the I'.T.S. have desired to put forward as their 
representative theosophist in America. It is 
only necessary for you to cable the Chicago 
Convention, to elect him president. Weigh 
these words well; pause, consider, reflect, and 
Act. ‘‘If ’twere well done, ’twere well done 
quickly.’’ 


The next day, April 17, 1889, he wrote her further on 
the same subject and, with incomparable effrontery, in- 


192 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


cluded the following choice gems of his egotism and 
mendacity : 


... do you know you are getting great dis- 
eredit in this country and for what do you sup- 
pose? for being jealous of me! Can you imagine 
such flapdoodle? You are not moved by abuse, 
but you want to know how people think and 
what they say, and a great many are talking 
loudly and wildly, that your silence respecting 
my books in the ‘‘Secret Doctrine,’’ and the ab- 
sence of my name from Lucifer (as well as from 
The Path) means that you are afraid of my 
growing power, and will brook no rival so 
dangerously near the papal throne of the- 
osophy. ... There is another queer thing. You 
have somehow got it stuck in your mind, that I 
put in the Chicago Tribune last year a carica- 
ture of the Master K. H. I had nothing what- 
ever to do with the article, which was merely 
a newspaper skit, and the lithographed effusion 
was no more a Mahatmie document than this 
letter. It was simply a piece of newspaper wit. 

Judge is a good fellow and means well, and 
I like him for many things, especially his devo- 
tion to you and the masters and their Cause; 
but dabbling in occultism, especially on a 
Mahatmie altitude is dangerous except to an 
Adept!! I am the humble servant of my 
Mahatma. 


The American Convention met at the end of the same 
month. Professor Coues was not present. He was not 
elected President or any other officer of the American 
Section. H.P.B. did not cable the Convention as re- 
quested. On the contrary, her formal Letter to that Con- 
vention had distinct reference to the class of ‘‘Theoso- 
phists’’ of which Prof. Coues was such a shining example, 
as may be observed from the extracts given in the last 
chapter. And under date of April 30, 1889, she wrote 
Prof. Coues from London, saying: 


MABEL COLLINS AND COUES 193 


Dear Doctor Coues: I have received your two 
letters and read them as they stand and also be- 
tween the lines and therefore I mean to be as 
frank with you as you are frank with me. I 
will take your two letters point by point. — 


Point by point she goes over the various matters in 
Prof. Coues’ letters, in friendly, considerate, but severely 
plain language, and on the subject of the ‘‘message from 
the Mahatma”’ she says: 


3. If you had nothing to do with the Chicago 
Tribune article (tho’ you must have influence 
with your own nephew) then why did you not 
contradict it, then and there? 

4. I know nothing about the number of mes- 
sages you may have received from Masters 
through Judge, whom I would never believe cap- 
able of it, or any one else. ... You speak of 
my seals on those letters. . . . Where did they 
get this? From Judge, from me or from you? 
It could hardly have been any except one of us 
three. .. . Your wise advice that such Mahatma 
messages should be confined to one channel, ‘‘the 
only genuine and original H.P.B. your friend,’’ 
was anticipated by Mahatma K. H. in so many 
words. Then why do you kick against that? 
You speak of your Mahatma, then why don’t you 
send letters in his name instead of those of my 
Master and Mahatma K. H. That would settle 
all the difficulties and there would be no quarrel. 
.. . What you have learned through me, I know, 
and do not want to know beyond. You may obey 
or disobey your Master as much as you like, if 
you know him to exist outside of your psychic 
visions. As to mine, every man devoid of all 
psychic powers can see him, since he is a liv- 
ing man. I wish he could be yours, for then, my 
dearest Dr., you would be spiritually a better 
man and a less sceptical one than you are. 


194 


THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


You speak of your eagerness ‘‘to defend and 
help a woman who has been sadly persecuted, 
because misunderstood.’’ Permit me to say to 
you for the last time that no bitterest enemy of 
mine has ever misunderstood me as you do... . 


CHAPTER XII 


THE COUES-COLLINS CHARGES AND THEIR AFTERMATH 


Havine failed, alike in his attempts to ingratiate him- 
self with the American Theosophists, to deceive H.P.B. 
in regard to his own treacherous course, or to disturb 
her complete confidence and trust in Mr. Judge, and his 
material being all prepared and ready for the execu- 
tion of his thinly veiled threats, Prof. Coues made the 
first assault in his campaign to ruin if he could not rule. 

On May 11, 1889, appeared the first Coues-Collins let- 
ters in the Religio-Philosophical Journal; followed up in 
the issue of the same journal for June 1, with two more 
letters from the same source. Succeeding issues followed 
with additional guns from the Editor, Col. Bundy, from 
Mr. W. Emmette Coleman, and others, in addition to 
Prof. Coues. Other Spiritualist and sectarian publica- 
tions and the secular press followed suit. A manifestly 
inspired attack on everything Theosophical, including of 
course H.P.B. and Mr. Judge, raged in many quarters. 
In England the ground had been equally well prepared, 
and in Light of the issues for May, June, and succeed- 
ing months the charges first published in America were 
repeated, with additions and variations. There, as in 
the United States, many other publications entered the 
fray, and there was a revival of the familiar tactics em- 
ployed five years previously during the Coulomb and 
S.P.R. attack. The Religio-Philosophical Journal did 
not open its columns to counter evidence, but Light, with 
a display of fairness as commendable as it was unique, 
gave space as freely to defenders as to assailants. Dur: 
ing the summer and autumn another strategem was em- 
ployed in a manner worthy of the best traditions of the 
followers of Ignatius Loyola. This jesuitical device was 

195 


196 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


ably carried out through Michael Angelo Lane. Mr. 
Lane was a newspaper reporter of St. Louis. Becoming 
interested in Theosophy as early as 1885, he joined the 
Society and corresponded with the headquarters at 
Adyar. Later on he became acquainted with Mr. Judge 
and volunteered his services in New York. After the 
formation of the Esoteric Section, Mr. Lane made his 
application for admission thereto as a probationer. He 
professed the utmost devotion to the Cause and wrote 
H.P.B. his desire to go to London to be near her and 
to aid in the work there. He took the pledge of the 
Esoteric Section, went to London, and was at the London 
headquarters for several weeks. He mysteriously dis- 
appeared on several occasions and very shortly returned 
to the United States. Thereafter he went from Lodge 
to Lodge, ostensibly as a Theosophist and member of 
the Esoteric Section and spread stories among the mem- 
bers to the discredit of H.P.B., of the Section and of 
the Society. Mr. Lane was promptly exposed as soon 
as circumstantial statements of his activities were for- 
warded to London, whereupon he ranged himself openly 
with Prof. Coues and other enemies of H.P.B., and her 
work. Professor Coues also had early applied to H.P.B. 
for the pledge and preliminary papers of the Esoteric 
Section, and these had been transmitted to him in confi- 
dence, the same as to all other applicants. He violated 
the confidence reposed in him, for these papers and the 
pledge were printed in the Religio-Philosophical Journal 
during the course of the warfare, and their contents dis- 
cussed with, and a portion of them given by Prof. Coues 
directly to the New York Swm in an interview. 

In his first letter to the Religio-Philosophical Journal 
Prof. Coues stated specifically that ‘‘about four years 
ago,’’ (1.e., in 1885) being interested in ‘‘Light on the 
Path,’’ he ‘‘wrote Mrs. Collins a letter, praising it and 
asking her about its real source.’’ This was because 
‘‘Tight on the Path,’’ said Prof. Coues, ‘‘was supposed 
to have been dictated to Mrs. Collins by ‘Koot Hoomi,’ 
or some other Hindu adept who held the Theosophical 
Society in the hollow of his masterly hand.’’ ‘To this 


THE COUES-COLLINS CHARGES 197 


letter of his Miss Collins ‘‘promptly replied, in her own 
handwriting, to the effect that ‘Light on the Path’ was 
inspired or dictated from the source above indicated.’’ 
Dr. Coues goes on to say that since that time ‘‘nothing 
passed between Mrs. Collins and myself until yesterday 
[May 2, 1889], when I wnexpectedly received the follow- 
ing letter.’’ Miss Collins’ letter is dated April 18, 1889, 
and runs: 


Dear Sir: I feel I have a duty to write you 
on a difficult and (to me) painful subject. and 
that I must not delay it any longer. 

You will remember writing to ask me who was 
the inspirer of ‘‘ Light on the Path.’’ If you had 
not yourself been acquainted with Madame 
Blavatsky I should despair of making you ever 
understand my conduct. Of course I ought to 
have answered the letter without showing it to 
any one else; but at that time I was both study- 
ing Madame Blavatsky and studying under her. 
I knew nothing then of the mysteries of the The- 
osophical Society, and I was puzzled why you 
should write me in such a way. I took the let- 
ter to her; the result was that I wrote the an- 
swer ut her dictation. I did not do this by her 
orders; I have never been under her orders. 
But I have done one or two things because she 
begged and implored me to; and this I did for 
that reason. So far as I can remember I wrote 
you that I had received ‘‘Light on the Path’’ 
from one of the Masters who guide Madame 
Blavatsky. I wish to ease my conscience now 
by saying that I wrote this letter from no knowl- 
edge of my own and merely to please her; and 
that I now see that I was very wrong in doing so. 
I ought further to state that ‘‘Light on the 
Path’’ was not to my knowledge inspired by any 
one; but that I saw it written on the walls of 
a place I visit spiritually, (which is described 
in the ‘‘Blossom and the Fruit’’)—there I read 


198 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


it and I wrote it down. I have myself never 
received proof of the existence of any Master; 
though I believe (as always) that the mahatmic 
force must exist. 
Yours faithfully, 
Maseut CoLiins. 


Professor Coues says of Mabel Collins’ letter to him 
as above: 


I was not surprised at the new light it threw 
on the pathway of the Theosophical Society, 
for late developments respecting that singular 
result of Madame Blavatsky’s now famous hoax 
left me nothing to wonder at. 


Next, in the Religio-Plilosophical Journal of June 1, 
1889, Prof. Coues appears with another letter in which 
he says that in his first communication he did not give 
the original letter from Miss Collins because—‘‘I could 
not conveniently lay my hands on it.’?’ He says he now 
gives it ‘‘word for word. It is in Mrs. Cooke’s hand- 
writing, undated and unsigned.’’ This wndated and un- 
signed note is as follows: 


The writer of ‘‘The Gates of Gold’’ is Mabel 
Collins, who had it as well as ‘‘Light on the 
Path’’ and the ‘‘Idyll of the White Lotus”’ dic- 
tated to her by one of the adepts of the group 
which through Madame Blavatsky first com- 
municated with the Western world. The name 
of this inspirer cannot be given, as the personal 
names of the Masters have already been suf- 
ficiently desecrated. 


Professor Coues adds: 


This is exactly, word for word, what Mrs. 
Cooke now says she wrongly wrote to me be- 
cause Madame Blavatsky ‘‘begged and im- 


THE COUES-COLLINS CHARGES 199 


plored’’ her to do so, and which she also wrote 
at her dictation. It certainly has the genuine 
Blavatskian ring about it. 


In a subsequent communication to the Religio-Phil- 
osophical Journal Dr. Coues has the hardihood to sub- 
scribe himself ‘‘F. T. 8.’’ (Fellow of the Theosophical 
Society), but the contents of the letter identify him as its 
author. Addressing himself to the Editor, Dr. Coues 
says: 

If your mail resembles mine in quantity and 
quality of theosophical correspondence since 
‘Mabel Collins’ ’’ disavowal of inspiration from 
Madame Blavatsky’s Hindu ‘‘controls’’ it must 
be curious reading.... At this revelation 
through the Journal some people are pleased; 
other sorry, others angry; some applaud; some 
condemn; many are curious, and most of them 
want to argue about it. My mail has a sort of 
shivery, gooseflesh quality, as if a panic in 
mahatmic stock were imminent and there is a 
tendency of the hair of the faithful to stand on 
endsts is. 

First, a good many persons are surprised that 
I seem to have only now found out that ‘‘Light 
on the Path’’ was not dictated by our friend 
Koot Hoomi or any other Eastern adept. Such 
have always known all about its source and my 
discovery is discounted as a theosophical chest- 
nut. Let me say to all such that I do not always 
tell all I know, and that I might have continued 
silent on the authorship of ‘‘Light on the 
Path,’’ had I not had reasons for publishing 
Mrs. Cooke’s letter just then and there—reasons 
I reserve for the present. 


Examining Prof. Coues’ ‘‘evidence’’ as supplied by 
himself the reader will note that he says he first wrote 
Miss Collins in 1885 (the year in which ‘‘Light on the 
Path’’ was first published), asking her about its ‘‘real 


200 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


source,’’ and that he was moved to do this both because 
of the inscription that it was ‘‘written down’’ by her, 
and because ‘‘it was supposed to have been dictated 
to Mrs. Collins by ‘Koot Hoomi’ or some other adept 
who held the Theosophical Society in the hollow of his 
masterly hand.’’ He says her reply confirmed the sup- 
position. 

‘At the time he wrote Miss Collins he was already 
himself a member of the Society and of the American 
Board of Control, was well acquainted with H.P.B., and 
Mr. Judge, and in communciation with them then and 
thereafter, up to and including April, 1889, professing 
the warmest admiration and friendship for both, and the 
utmost devotion to the Cause they served. It does not 
appear that at any time during those four years he ever 
wrote either H.P.B. or Mr. Judge for confirmation of 
Miss Mabel Collins’ affirmation that ‘‘Light on the Path’’ 
was inspired or dictated by one of the Theosophical 
Adepts. Yet, either on the assumption that he wanted 
to verify the source as claimed by Miss Collins or that 
he all along believed H.P.B. to be the inventor of a 
‘‘hoax,’’ as his first communication affirms and his last 
intimates, it is clear that he made no effort to verify 
Miss Collins’ statement. This is the more peculiar, as 
it is plainly evident he neither knew Miss Collins per- 
sonally, kept up his intercourse with her, nor had at the 
time he received her letter of April 18, 1889, any but 
the scantiest knowledge about her. For he says that in 
the intervening four years ‘‘nothing passed between Mrs. 
Collins and myself until yesterday’’ (May 2, 1889); and 
in his first letter he four times calls her ‘‘Mrs. Collins,’’ 
whereas her married name was Cook; while in his later 
communications he repeatedly speaks of her as Mrs. 
Cooke. 

Notable as was his omission in the circumstances, to 
verify in any way Miss Collins’ first statement as to the 
authorship of ‘‘Light on the Path,’’ his course of pro- 
cedure, when her second letter came, is still more signifi- 
eant. For in that letter she plainly said to him that her 
own first statement was false, that in fact ‘‘Light on the 


THE COUES-COLLINS CHARGES 201 


Path’’ was not to her knowledge inspired by anyone; 
that she had never received proof of the existence of 
any Master; that she knew nothing at the time of the 
‘‘mysteries of the Theosophical Society.”’ 

Quite apart from anything else, these two contradic- 
tory statements must have shown Prof. Coues that Miss 
Mabel Collins’ testimony was untrustworthy and value- 
less without corroboration. Here, from every angle, was 
something that required and demanded clearing up in 
mere justice to himself as an honest inquirer interested 
in getting at the facts. But much more than his own 
interests were concerned in doing his utmost to ascertain 
the truth: his fellow Theosophists by thousands were as 
much concerned as himself, if Mabel Collins’ second ‘‘ex- 
planation’’ should be true, as much concerned as him- 
self should it be false; finally, remained H. P. Blavatsky, 
his friend, revered by many, hated by many, accused of 
an abominable offense by a woman who had already once 
given him false testimony, and who, he must have known, 
had recently been dismissed from Lucifer and from all 
association with H.P.B. Certainly every motive of fair- 
ness, of common decency, even, would require him to 
take steps to ascertain the truth or the falsity of Mabel 
Collins’ ‘‘explanation”’ and accusation before making any 
charges. Yet what did he do? Immediately on receipt 
of Miss Collins’ letter of April 18, he says, ‘‘I cabled 
Mrs. Collings for permission to use her letter at my dis- 
eretion.’’ ‘‘Mrs.’’ Collins obediently replied, ‘‘Use my 
letter as you please.’’ And the same day Prof. Coues 
enclosed her letter and one of his own to the Religio- 
Philosophical Journal—an ardent Spiritualist publica- 
tion, vehicle of Mr. W. Emmette Coleman’s prolonged 
and malicious attacks on H.P.B. Thus, in view of the 
facts, what credence can be attached to the character 
or veracity of Dr. Elliott Coues’ testimony where his 
motives are so absolutely impeached? 

But there is more. In his second communication to 
the Religio-Philosophical Journal Prof. Coues gives, he 
says, ‘‘word for word”’ the first letter sent him by Mabel 
Collins. ‘‘It is in Mrs. Cooke’s handwriting’’ and in it 


202 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


she says, in reply to his original inquiry, ‘‘The writer of 
‘The Gates of Gold’ is Mabel Collins who had 7 as well 
as ‘Light on the Path’ and ‘Idyll of the White Lotus’ 
dictated to her by one of the adepts.’’ In his first com- 
munication (dated May 3, 1889) Prof. Coues had already 
stated that his original inquiry and her reply had oc- 
eurred ‘‘about four years ago’’—that is, sometime in 
1885—‘‘since which time nothing passed between Mrs. 
Collins and myself.’’ Now the actual and indisputable 
fact is that ‘‘The Gates of Gold’’ was not published until 
1887—two years after the alleged correspondence had 
taken place! Thus the ‘‘evidence’’ produced by Prof. 
Coues against the honor of H. P. Blavatsky not only 
falls of its own weight so far as she is concerned, but 
convicts Prof. Coues out of his own mouth of shameless 
duplicity and an equally shameless mendacity. 

Turning now to Mabel Collins’ share in the attempted 
stroke, the reader will note upon examining her two let- 
ters that she confesses her own falsehood. In her first 
letter she says her books were dictated by one of the 
Adepts; in her second letter she says her falsehood was 
dictated by H.P.B. If her first statement is accepted 
it was the Adept who dictated her books. But in her 
second letter she declares (1) ‘‘I have myself never 
received proof of the existence of any Master’’; (2) ‘‘I 
knew nothing then of the mysteries of the Theosophical 
Society.’’ 

In her second letter Mabel Collins admits the false- 
hood in her first but says she told it because Madame 
Blavatsky ‘‘begged and implored me to.’’ 

Let us contrast these statements with known and 
undisputed facts. 

H.P.B. was in London from the end of July, 1884, 
till November 11 of the same year, when she sailed for 
India, less the interval when she was in Germany with 
the Gebhards. She was in India till April of 1885, dur- 
ing which time she was in the midst of the storm of the 
Coulomb case and most of the time lying between life 
and death. From April, 1885, on, she was in Naples, 
in Germany, in Belgium, returning to England only in 


THE COUES-COLLINS CHARGES 2038 


May, 1887. During the entire period from November, 
1884, until after May, 1887, she neither saw nor had any 
communications with Mabel Collins. Even while H.P.B. 
was in England during the fall of 1884 she never even 
saw Mabel Collins more than two or three times and at 
no time did she see her except in the presence of others. 
The ‘‘Idyll of the White Lotus’’ was written by Mabel 
Collins before she ever met H.P.B. That work was 
shown by her in manuscript to Mr. Ewen and Mr. Finch, 
both well-known and reputable men, to both of whom she 
stated that the work had been ‘‘inspired’’ by ‘‘some one’’ 
whose appearance she described. Mr. Ewen showed the 
manuscript to Col. Olcott, with whom Mabel Collins 
talked and made the same claim of ‘‘inspiration.’’ She 
told Col. Olcott that the work had been written by her 
either in trance or under dictation, and described to him 
the appearance of the ‘‘inspirer.’’ All this was before 
H.P.B. ever set eyes on Mabel Collins. Furthermore 
the first edition of the ‘‘Idyll,’’ published when H.P.B. 
was thousands of miles away, and without any interven- 
ing communication with Mabel Collins, bore this inscrip- 
tion: ‘‘to the True Author, the Inspirer of this work; 
It Is Dedicated.”’ 

Next, with regard to ‘‘Light on the Path’’: The un- 
disputed facts are that Mabel Collins did not begin that 
work until November, 1884, just prior to the departure 
of H.P.B. for India. On November 8 of that year Miss 
Collins showed H.P.B. a page or two of manuscript of 
what afterwards became ‘‘Light on the Path.’’ H.P.B. 
was in India when that work was completed and pub- 
lished, yet the inscription and Mabel Collins’ various 
statements at the time and on down to the present date, 
claim that work, not as her own composition, but ‘‘ written 
down’’ by her. Her last claim in that respect was as 
recently made as the year 1919.1 H.P.B. never even 
saw the text of ‘‘Light on the Path’’ until the summer 
of 1886, when a copy of it was given to her in Germany 
by Arthur Gebhard. 


1In an autograph letter, now in the possession of the Editors of the 
magazine Theosophy (Los Angeles, California). 


204 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


Further, Mrs. C. A. Passingham, a reputable and well- 
known English woman, wrote to Light while the Coues- 
Collins charges were pending, to the effect that early in 
1885 Mabel Collins spent an afternoon and part of the 
evening at her house. This, Mrs. Passingham thinks, 
was in February. She continues: 


She expressed a wish to leave early, as she 
had an ‘‘appointment’’ with ‘‘Hilarion”’.. . I 
may add that Mrs. Collins told me herself that 
the influence under which she wrote the book in 
question was that of a person whom she had long 
known, but had only lately identified as being 
that of an ‘‘adept.’’ 


On the 12th of June, 1889, Mabel Collins’ sister, Ellen 
Hopkins, wrote a letter to Light which is published in 
that journal for June 15, 1889. The letter follows: 


. .. Will you allow me to state that my sister, 
Mabel Collins, is too ill at the moment to be able 
to speak for herself, but I trust that she will 
be well enough in a few days to furnish you with 
a reply which will put a very different aspect on 
the whole affair? 


The ‘‘few days’’ spoken of by Ellen Hopkins went 
by and rolled into months with no statement from 
Mabel Collins. Meantime pamphlets had been gotten 
out by ‘‘F.T.S.,’? by Mr. Judge, and by H.P.B. State- 
ments had been made by Archibald and Bertram Keight- 
ley, both of whom had known H.P.B. since the summer 
of 1884, both of whom had been intimate indeed with 
Mabel Collins, and both of whom had resided almost 
continuously in the headquarters house with H.P.B., 
after her return to England in 1887. The several state- 
ments, the documentary and other proofs, the establish- 
ment of dates, the production of letters of Prof. Coues 
to H.P.B., all showed conclusively the utter falsity of 
the charges made by the Coues-Collins alliance. 


THE COUES-COLLINS CHARGES 205 


Professor Coues had overreached himself. He had 
peen thoroughly exposed. The charter of the Gnostic 
Branch was revoked and Coues himself expelled from 
the Society. Months later, while preparing a further 
attack, he endeavored to retrieve his earlier blunder 
by writing a letter to Light which is referred to in the 
leading editorial of that publication for November 2, 
1889. From this it appears that he concocted an ex post 
facto correction by saying that he had been mistaken in 
fixing the date of his first letter to Miss Mabel Collins 
as 1885, when it should have been 1887. As proof he 
told the editor of Light that on June Ist, 1889, Miss 
Collins had cabled him of his mistake and as further 
proof he sent a card of Mabel Collins, wndated, and 
without the envelope—a card, whether the original or 
otherwise does not matter, but claimed to be the origi- 
nal,—which Light accepted as an ‘‘explanation’’ because 
‘“‘The Gates of Gold’’ was not published until 1887! The 
animus of this laggard explanation of Prof. Coues’ im- 
passe is, we think, entirely clear, and worthy of the same 
degree of credibility as his other facile statements. It 
is to be noted that although Mabel Collins was ‘‘too ill’’ 
to make a concrete statement to Light at the time—and 
before the publication of the pamphlets which proved 
by dates alone the impossibility of her statements or 
Coues’ being true—she was not too ill to send a cable- 
gram to her co-conspirator warning him of the discrep- 
ancy into which his too great facility and too zealous haste 
had led him. But to return to Miss Mabel Collins’ books. 

The third of the trio was ‘‘The Gates of Gold’’ which 
her unsigned note to Prof. Coues attributed to ‘‘one of 
the adepts’’ and which—her retraction, whether four 
years later or two does not matter—by implication at 
least is included in the falsehood which Madame 
Blavatsky ‘‘begged and implored”’ her to circulate. Let 
us see as to that. 

‘“‘The Gates of Gold’’ was written in 1886. Madame 
Blavatsky was living at the time in Germany. The book 
was published in England and in America very early in 


206 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


1887, while H.P.B. lay on a sick-bed in Belgium. The 
first edition of the work contained this inscription: 


Once, as I sat alone writing, a mysterious 
Visitor entered my study unannounced, and 
stood beside me. I forgot to ask who he was, 
or why he entered so unceremoniously, for he be- 
gan to tell me of the Gates of Gold. He spoke 
from knowledge, and from the fire of his speech 
I caught faith. I have written down his words; 
but alas, I cannot hope that the fire shall burn 
as brightly in my writing as in his speech. 


All these are undisputed facts. As in the case of the 
‘‘Tdyll’’ and ‘‘Light on the Path,’’ this book was written 
and published when H.P.B. was not in England, when 
she was not in any communication with Mabel Collins, 
when she was physically in the gravest condition. Yet 
all three books bear inscriptions written by Mabel Col- 
lins which can be interpreted only as a disclaimer of her 
own authorship of them and a claim that they were in- 
spired—no matter how or by whom. 

Finally, as in the Coulomb case, H.P.B. had every- 
thing to risk and nothing to gain by such chicanery as 
was attributed to her. No one of her enemies ever im- 
agined it plausible for a moment to call her a fool, but 
a fool as well as a ‘‘fraud’’ she must have been to put 
herself at the mercy of Madame Coulomb, Mabel Collins, 
or any one else, for such paltry ends as such rascality, 
even if successful, would have achieved. For quite with- 
out risk or occasion for either the Coulombs’ or the Col- 
lins’ help, she had the recorded testimony of Col. Olcott, 
of Mr. Judge, of Damodar, of Maj.-Gen. Morgan, of 
Mr. Sinnett, of Mr. A. O. Hume, of Countess Wacht- 
meister, of Mr. Hubbe-Schleiden, Dr. Hartmann, Miss 
Arundale, a hundred others of reputation and character, 
both as to Adept inspiration, and her own phenomenal 
powers. What had she to gain, what motive could in- 
spire her, whether in 1885, while a storm was already 
raging about the Coulomb charges, or in 1887, when her 


THE COUES-COLLINS CHARGES 207 


own position as regards Theosophists needed no bolster: 
ing—what had she to gain, one may ask, by fraudulently 
procuring what, if believed, would add neither to her own 
repute nor to that of her Masters, but would only en- 
hance the importance and prestige of Mabel Collins? 

It thus becomes clear with regard to all three books, 
first that Miss Collins on her own account both before and 
since, claimed them to be inspired; secondly, that with 
regard to any and all of them H.P.B. was physically 
absent, physically not in communication, physically not 
in a position to beg and implore Mabel Collins to do 
or say anything in regard to them. If, then, she ‘‘influ- 
enced’’ Miss Collins in any way, it was from a distance 
and by the use of phenomenal powers indeed. But if she 
actually possessed such Occult powers—and desired to 
misuse them—why in the name of the commonest of com- 
mon sense should she betray herself by using cheap phy- 
sical frauds, when by employing her Occult powers she 
could procure the wished for result without risk? 

Miss Mabel Collins also wrote: ‘‘ At the time—whether 
1885 or 1887 does not matter—I was both studying 
Madame Blavatsky and studying under her.’’ As Miss 
Collins was not in communication with H.P.B. nor in 
her presence from their first meeting in the fall of 1884 
till just prior to the commencement of the publication 
of Lucifer in September, 1887, it is certain that during 
that interval this statement is as inaccurate as her others. 
Mabel Collins was closely associated with H.P.B. in the 
publication of Lucifer from September, 1887, until 
January, 1889. The contents of the magazine show that 
whatever Miss Collins wrote was published over her 
own signature, the same as with H.P.B. and other con- 
tributors—and on her own responsibility. Part of her 
contribution was ‘‘The Blossom and the Fruit,’’ a novel 
for which she made the same claim of an inspirer as with 
the three works already discussed. At no time and in 
no place has anyone produced a line written or signed 
by H.P.B. supporting Miss Mabel Collins’ claims to 
studying under her. On the contrary, H.P.B. refused 
to accept Mabel Collins even as a probationer of the 


208 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


Esoteric Section until the latter ‘‘begged and implored’’ 
indeed. She was then placed on probation after warning, 
and within four days, in the words of H.P.B., ‘‘broke 
her vows, becoming guilty of the blackest treachery and 
disloyalty to her HicHrr Setr. And when I could no 
longer keep in the E.S. either herself or her friend, the 
two convulsed the whole Society with their calumnies 
and falsehoods.’’ Mabel Collins brought suit in England 
against H.P.B. for libel. When the case came for trial 
in July, 1890, a certain letter written by Miss Mabel Col- 
lins was shown by H.P.B.’s attorney to the counsel for 
Miss Collins, who thereupon asked the Court to take 
the case off the docket, which was done. 

Viewing the enormous difference between the three 
books named and the prior and subsequent writings of 
Mabel Collins, and the many stories told by Miss Collins 
and others as to the real source of ‘‘Light on the 
Path’’ and its companion volumes, and how they were 
obtained, the student may be interested in the only com- 
ment made directly by H.P.B. in those respects. In her 
letter to Lnght of June 8, 1889, she says, wméter alia, 
‘“When I met her [Mabel Collins] she had just completed 
the Idyll of the White Lotus, which as she stated to 
Colonel Olcott, had been dictated to her by some ‘mys- 
terious person.’ Guided by her description, we both 
recognized an old friend of ours, a Greek, and no Ma- 
hatma, though an Adept; further developments prov- 
ing we were right. This fact, acknowledged by Mrs. 
Cooke in her dedication of the Idyll, sets aside the idea 
that the work was either inspired or dictated by Koot 
Hoomi or any other Mahatma.’’ In the pamphlet issued 
by H.P.B. at the same time, this statement is repeated, 
together with the following most interesting paragraph: 


Was the dedication invented, and a Master 
and ‘‘inspirer’’ suggested by Mme. [Blavatsky] 
before the latter had ever seen his amanuensis 
[Mabel Collins]? For that only she proclaims 
herself in her dedication, by speaking of the 
‘‘true author,’’ who thus must be regarded as 


THE COUES-COLLINS CHARGES 209 


some kind of Master, at all events. Moreover, 
heaps of letters may be produced all written be- 
tween 1872 and 1884, and signed A?: the well- 
known seal of one who became an adept only 
in 1886. Did Mme. Blavatsky send to ‘‘Miss 
Mabel Collins’’ this signature, when neither 
knew of the other’s existence? 


The same pamphlet of H.P.B.’s contains also a letter, 
signed ‘‘A Student of Light on the Path,’’ reprinted from 
Iight of June 8, 1889, in which the following suggestive 
ideas are put forth: 


Referring to Miss Collins’ explanation, it is 
at once evident that another intelligence besides 
her own must also have visited the place, ‘‘spir- 
itually’’? or otherwise, where she saw ‘‘Light 
on the Path’’ written upon its walls, for someone 
must have placed the words there; moreover, 
that intelligence had command over good mod- 
ern English as well as being the possessor of 
high practical wisdom. 

We judge, therefore, that Miss Collins was 
simply the favoured vehicle for the communica- 
tion of those particular rules of the ‘‘Hall of 
Learning’’ to the many mortals now needing and 
hungering for them, and while it is impossible 
that they could have been written up where she 
was permitted to observe them, otherwise than 
by an intelligent Being who had also visited that 
place, it does not at all follow that he should, or 
ought to, have made himself or his nature known 
to her. That would have been creating a basis 
for personal intimacy which was not necessary 
and perhaps not advisable. 

As regards the manner in which one mind may 
instruct or inform another, on what may be 
termed the occult plane, we know at present very 


* This symbol was used as a signature in the original edition of ‘‘ Light 
on the Path,’’ following the numbered ‘‘rules.’’ 


210 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


little, but the phenomena of psychometry and 
thought-transference may some day, if scientifi- 
cally studied, be the means of our understanding 
those things better. 


To whatever conclusions the student may come on the 
mooted real authorship of ‘‘Light on the Path’’ and its 
related volumes, what has been adduced will, we believe, 
serve to make two points, general and particular, very 
clear. The general point is that expressed in the 
words of H.P.B. in the ‘‘Introductory’’ to the ‘‘Secret 
Doctrine’’: 


It is above everything wmportant to keep m 
mind that no theosophical book acqumres the 
least additional value from pretended authority. 


Had Theosophical students kept this admonition in mind, 
whether as regards H.P.B. herself, Miss Mabel Collins, 
or all the host of those before and since, who have 
claimed, truly or falsely, to ‘‘speak with authority,’’ 
whether ‘‘in the name of the Lord’’ or ‘‘in the name of 
the Master’’—had they been content to study the ‘‘mes- 
sage’’ on the basis of its own inherent merit instead of 
under the glamour of belief in some authority, real or 
imaginary, they would quickly have become able to ‘‘test 
the spirits’? to some purpose. 

The particular point is that it is evident alike from 
Miss Mabel Collins’ own statements as to her inspirer 
and from the quality of the other writings emanating 
from her pen, that she had not then and has not now, 
the remotest knowledge of her own, either as to the actual 
source of her three gem products, as to the means by 
which their substance and form reached her, or as to their 
substance. She was, in no invidious sense, purely and 
simply the medium of their transmission. 


CHAPTER XIV 
‘‘rHE NEW YORK SUN’’ LIBEL CASE 


Wuen the American Sectional Convention met at 
Chicago at the end of April, 1890, Mr. Judge’s Report as 
General Secretary contained the following reference to 
Prof. Coues: 


During the past year there has been no ap- 
peal to the Executive Committee from any 
Branch or individual, and but one case of dis- 
cipline. On June 11th [1889] formal charges of 
untheosophic conduct were preferred by Mr. 
Arthur B. Griggs of Boston against Dr. Elliott 
Coues, of Washington. These charges were in 
part based on public imputations by Dr. Coues 
of fraud and falsehood to Madame Blavatsky, 
and in part upon unpublished letters in which 
the Theosophical Society, its teachings, aims, 
and officers, were treated as shams and deceits. 
I officially sent a copy of these charges to Dr. 
Coues in a registered letter, notifying him of the 
date when the Executive Committee would be 
prepared to hear his defense. During the inter- 
vening time no reply was received, and the Com- 
mittee, having considered the charges, adjudged 
them sustained, by a unanimous vote, and on 
June 22d expelled Dr. Coues from the The- 
osophical Society. Later events have con- 
clusively shown that it is better for its enemies 
to be placed without its pale than permitted to 
remain within it. From this decision there has 
been no appeal to Col. Olcott, and therefore 
it is final. 

211 


212 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


The Theosophical community having thus disembar- 
rassed itself of the traitor within the household, and 
placed on record its action, Dr. Coues prepared his final 
thunderbolt. In the New York Sun for Sunday, June 1, 
1890, the leading editorial article was entitled, ‘‘The 
Humbug of Theosophy.’’ It says: 


The exposure of the imposture of Mme. 
BuiavatskKy does not seem to lessen at all the 
prosperity of her humbug religion... . 

The number of new members admitted during 
the year was 373, and there was one expulsion, 
Dr. Exuiorr Covss of Washington. He is a man 
of scientific reputation, who showed up the lying 
and trickery of the Bhavarsky woman after hav- 
ing been one of her dupes for several years. 
With her closer intimates she seems to make 
little attempt to conceal her real character as a 
charlatan, and her hearty contempt for their 
folly in taking her seriously. Her long’ success 
in keeping up the humbug is, therefore, all the 
more astonishing. Whether her principal dis- 
ciple, Col. Oucort, is also playing a fraudulent 
part, it is hard to say. He seems to be very 
much in earnest, and as she seems to despise 
him thoroughly and undisguisedly, laughing at 
his antics, it is perhaps presumable that he is 
honest and sincere in his credulity. He treats 
the snuffy old woman as a veritable seeress, and 
reads her mystical writings with apparent and 
probably real veneration, though she hag de- 
scribed him to her old confederate, Mme. 
CouLoms, as a muff of the first water. Dr. 
Cougs is of very different stuff, and he did not 
hesitate to banter her on the success of her trick- 
ery. He seems to have seen through her at an 
early day, and the wonder is that a man of his 
standing remained in her crowd so long... . 

Mme. Buavatsxy has the assurance to write to 
her American dupes that her charlatanism is 


“THE SUN” LIBEL CASE 213 


prospering more than ever, financially and 
otherwise. She addresses them from a sick 
chamber, to which she is confined by a mortal 
disease, and yet she persists in her determina- 
tion to keep the imposture going until the end. 
She is an old woman of wonderful will power 
and of unquestionable intellectual ability. What 
the motive of her course is, we cannot imagine, 
unless it be mere love of fun and mischief. It 
evidently pleases her to make fools of people, 
and she is likely to go down to history as one of 
the chief impostors of our day. Whether the- 
osophy will die with her is very doubtful. It has 
a fascination for a certain class of minds fond of 
mysticism; and its Buddhistic element is getting 
to be fashionable at this period... . 

The men in the business strike us as being 
made up of arrant humbugss and superficial fel- 
lows whom anything like abstract thought drives 
substantially crazy. But they have succeeded in 
inducing thousands to take them seriously as 
profound philosophers. 


This ignoble consideration of Madame Blavatsky, her 
teachings, and her students, was followed, on Sunday, 
July 20, 1890, by a full-page special article from its 
Washington correspondent in the form of an interview 
with Prof. Coues. The editorial page of the Sun of the 
same date contained as its leading article a still more 
undignified and disreputable treatment of the subject 
under the caption, ‘‘The History of a Humbug.’’ It is, 
in full, as follows: 


We publish to-day a wonderfully interesting 
history of the invention of the humbug of The- 
osophy. It is related by Prof. Exxiorr Covss of 
the Smithsonian Institution at Washington, an 
ornithologist of distinction, who at one time was 
deceived by Mme. Buavarsky’s pretensions, but 


214 


THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


since has discovered her to be the impostor she 
18. 

This woman is by birth a Russian subject, 
and is now about 60 years of age, though she 
looks and pretends to be much older. She is fat, 
gross, of abominable habits, an intolerable 
temper, swearing like a pirate and smoking like 
a chimney, of restless energy and endless craft. 
Very little is known of her early days, when she 
was Mlle. Haun, except that she was married to 
the Russian whose name she still bears, though 
she soon left him and entered upon her career 
of adventure without preserving any prejudices 
so far as matrimony is concerned. 

In other words, her morals may be theosophie, 
but they are bad. Since she lost her youth she 
has been living by her wits, sharpened by much 
experience of travel and the friction of many 
years of vagabondage. Her profession, so far 
as she has had any stated employment, has been 
as a Russian spy. As such, Prof. Couss tells us, 
she came to New York in 1873, and in that ca- 
pacity she subsequently went to India with Col. 
Oucott as her faithful attendant. The device of 
theosophy was simply contrived by her as a 
cover for her real designs. 

This confirms the theory of her imposture 
which was advanced after she had been exposed 
by an investigating committee of the London So- 
ciety for Psychical Research. That exposure 
was complete. It was proved beyond a doubt 
that, with Mme. Covutoms, a French woman, as 
a confederate, and with the assistance of the me- 
chanical ingenuity of M. Coutoms, she kept up 
a pretended correspondence with a supernatural 
Koor Hoomi, deceiving her dupes by the baldest 
jugglery. The old witch, according to Prof. 
Cougs, was doing it all for no other purpose than 
to kick up a dust to hide her political intrigues. 
But she was not so sharp as she thought; the 


“THE SUN” LIBEL CASE 215 


Russian Government stopped her pay, and she 
was driven to using her theosophical imposture 
itself as a means of making a living. As to OL- 
coTT, who began his career in the secret service 
of our own War Department, Prof. Cours seems 
to think that he is not the wholly guileless and 
eullible fool he appears, at least not now. Poor 
fellow, he is in Buavarsxy’s clutches and he can 
not escape, though he has found her out as a 
harridan and a humbug. Accordingly he is per- 
force a humbug himself. 

It is a wonderful story how this crafty Tartar 
entrapped this shrewd Yankee, so that for fif- 
teen years they have together played their game 
of humbugging people into believing that they 
are the prophets of a new religion founded on 
Asiatic wisdom, of which they are both together 
totally ignorant. Their trickery has been ex- 
posed with scientific completeness and exacti- 
tude, and yet their impudence is in no wise les- 
sened. They keep straight faces and go on with 
their humbug, cheered and encouraged, of course, 
by the folly of men and women who take them 
seriously. 

Prof. Couns’ narrative in form and substance 
makes capital reading. 


The Coues interview fills seven closely printed columns 
of small type. The charges made and the alleged evi- 
dence procured by Prof. Coues ostensibly exposed the 
facts of H.P.B.’s career from 1857 onwards. It is worth 
while for the student to observe these putative facts in 
the Sun articles, for they include the multitude of attacks 
before and since upon H.P.B. and Theosophy. The 
sequel shows their untruthfulness and the basic ignorance 
or dishonesty of those who make and repeat those 
charges. 

On the statements of Mr. Daniel Dunglas Home, the 
medium, and Mr. W. Emmette Coleman, Dr. Coues 
charged H.P.B. with having been a member of the demi- 


216 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


monde of Paris in 1857-8 and mistress of the Prince 
Emile de Wittgenstein, ‘‘by whom she had a deformed 
son, who died at Kieff in 1868.’’ 

On the strength of the report of Mr. Richard Hodgson 
of S.P.R. fame, she is charged with ‘‘having shared 
the fortunes’’ of one Metrovitch in Cairo in 1871. This 
is said to be provable by Madame Coulomb and to be 
‘‘the key to the power Coulomb had over Blavatsky.’’ 
This charge is further supported by a letter from Madame 
Coulomb to Col. Bundy of the Relgio-Philosophical 
Journal, and is the charge hinted at by Madame Cou- 
lomb, at the close of the preface to her pamphlet against 
H.P.B. in 1884, but which she feared to make publicly in 
India. | 

The next charge definitely makes H.P.B. out a Rus- 
sian spy from 1873 on. Then she is charged to have been 
‘‘exploiting as a spiritualist medium’’ during her five 
years at New York, and before that at Cairo. Hudson 
Tuttle, a Spiritualist, is quoted as sponsor for an attack 
on Mr. Judge. In gambler’s terms Prof. Coues charac- 
terizes Theosophy, H.P.B., Col. Olcott, and Mr. Judge 
as ‘‘three-card monte with king, queen, and knave. 
Blavatsky dealt, Olcott steered, Judge played capper.’’ 

Madame Blavatsky’s authorship of ‘‘Isis Unveiled’’ is 
declared to be a fiction and on the authority of ‘‘a friend 
of mine’’ the real author is claimed to be the Baron de 
Palm, who was a member of the Society in its earliest 
days and the cremation of whose body was the first in 
the United States. The de Palm story is told at length 
in Col. Oleott’s ‘‘Old Diary Leaves.’’ Prof. Coues goes 
on to declare, ‘‘similar, yet different frauds are the root, 
stock and branch of other theosophical books.’’ 

The Report of the Society for Psychical Research is 
then taken up, and Dr. Coues affirms: 


The London Society for Psychical Research 
determined to send one of their number to 
Madras. Dr. Hodgson went to India in Novem- 
ber, 1884, and stayed until April, 1885. The re- 


“THE SUN” LIBEL CASE 217 


sult of his investigation was the total collapse of 
the theosophic fake, and there has not yet been 
found leather enough in the lungs of all the 
fakirs combined to reinflate the bubble. Dr. 
Hodgson’s report is elaborate, circumstantial 
and conclusive. Its force has never been and 
never will be broken. It is a volume of several 
hundred pages, with diagrams of the trap-doors 
on the Blavatsky stage, and facsimiles of 
Blavatsky’s handwriting proved to be identical 
with that of the mythical Koot Hoomi. It shows 
that the Coulombs, whatever their own charac- 
ters, and whatever their animus or purpose, had 
told the plain, simple truth as far as their dis- 
closures went. ‘Their evidence had already 
damned the woman; Hodgson’s report sealed, 
certified and executed that sentence. 


H.P.B., Col. Olcott, and Mr. Judge are repeatedly 
charged with being in the Society for money and that it 
is run for revenue only. Mr. Michael Angelo Lane’s ex- 
ploits are then referred to and he is made sponsor for 
stories of bogus Mahatmic messages ‘‘in very good imi- 
tation of the things Mr. Judge has been in the habit of 
distributing to favorite dupes—these themselves being 
in imitation of the rice paper missives of Blavatsky’s 
original hoax.”’ 


‘‘How about these ‘Mahatmic letters’ we 
heard so much about a while ago, such a one, 
for example, as the Chicago Tribune pub- 
lished in facsimile?’’ asked the reporter. 

‘‘Oh, you mean those Aids to Faith in 
Blavatsky which went the rounds? Here are 
acouple. They are at your service if you wish 
to print them. ... The subject of the com- 
munication is simply bosh, as you perceive; 
the handwriting is almost unquestiouably that 
of Mr. Judge, who is an expert penman.’’ 


218 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


Professor Coues then renews the ‘‘Kiddle incident’’ 
charges as to the source of the Mahatma letters in ‘‘The 
Occult World,’’ and concludes: 


Such is the unspeakably puerile nonsense 
upon which the Mahatmic myth is erected. 
Papers prepared for no more cause or conse- 
quence than these flimsy forgeries I have ob- 
tained from Mr. Judge, and by Blavatsky or 
some other blatherskite, have made much the- 
osophic history. . . . I could say more but I 
trust you appreciate the blessing of having 
two such authentic and impressive missives 
from beyond the Himalayas in your vest 
pocket—from as far beyond those heights as 
Mr. Judge’s office in New York—precisely. 


Following the Sun articles, Mr. Judge in The Path 
for August, 1890, advised all whom it might concern that 
he had brought suit for libel. Manifestly he had done 
this only for the protection of the Society and the good 
name of H.P.B., and to head off similar attacks in 
other publications, for he himself had been mentioned 
only incidentally and as rather dupe and tool than arch 
deceiver, and the same as to Col. Olcott. In his notice 
Mr. Judge made the significant statement: 


The animus of the writer is so plainly dis- 
closed that it might well serve as an ample an- 
swer to the attack. Inasmuch, however, as 
certain moral charges cannot be permitted utter- 
ance with impunity, I have brought suit for 
libel... and am awaiting instructions from 
Madame Blavatsky as to her own course. 


In The Path for September, 1890, is printed a letter 
from Madame Blavatsky whose tone and spirit is in 
shining contrast with the course and animus of her 
calumniators. The letter reads: 


“THE SUN” LIBEL CASE 


While I fully agree to the proposition that we 
should forgive our enemies, yet I do not thereby 
lose my ‘‘appeal unto Caesar,’’ and in that ap- 
peal, which is now made to the Law and not to 
the Emperor, I may keep:the command to for- 
give, while for the protection of the name of a 
dead friend and the security in the future of 
Theosophists, I hale into the Courts of the land 
those who, having no sense of what is right or 
just, see fit to publish broadcast wicked and un- 
founded slanders. 

For some fifteen years I have calmly stood by 
and seen my good name assailed by newspaper 
gossips who delight to dwell upon the personal 
peculiarities of those who are well known, and 
have worked on for the spread of our Theosophi- 
cal ideas, feeling confident that, though I might 
be assailed by small minds who try their best to 
bring me into reproach, the Society which I 
helped to found would withstand the attacks, 
and, indeed, grow under them. This latter has 
been the case. It may be asked by some members 
why I have never replied to those attacks which 
were directed against Occultism and phenomena. 
For two reasons: Occultism will remain forever, 
no matter how assailed, and Occult phenomena 
can never be proved in a Court of Law during 
this century. Besides, I have never given pub- 
lic currency to any of the latter, but have al- 
ways objected to the giving out of things the 
profane cannot understand. 

But now a great metropolitan daily in New 
York, with no knowledge of the facts in the case, 
throws broadcast before the public many charges 
against me, the most of which meet their refuta- 
tion in my life over a decade. But as one of 
them reflects strongly upon my moral character 
and brings into disrepute the honorable name of 
a dead man, an old family friend, it is impos- 
sible for me to remain silent, and so I have di- 


220 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


rected my lawyers in New York to bring an 
action against the New York Sun for libel. 

This paper accuses me of being a member of 
the demi-monde in ’58 and ’68 and of having 1m- 
proper relations with Prince Emile Wittgen- 
stein, by whom the paper says I had an illegiti- 
mate son. 

The first part of the charge is so ridiculous as 
to arouse laughter, but the second and third hold 
others up to reprobation. Prince Wittgenstein, 
now dead, was an old friend of my family, whom 
I saw for the last time when I was eighteen 
years old, 2.e., in 1849, and he and his wife re- 
mained until his death in close correspondence 
with me. He was a cousin of the late Empress 
of Russia, and little thought that upon his grave 
would be thrown the filth of a modern New York 
newspaper. This insult to him and to me I am 
bound by all dictates of my duty to repel, and am 
also obliged to protect the honor of all The- 
osophists who guide their lives by the teachings 
of Theosophy; hence my appeal to the Law and 
to a jury of my fellow Americans. I gave up my 
allegiance to the Czar of Russia in the hope that 
America would protect her citizens; may that 
hope not prove vain.—H. P. B. 


At the time, the Sun was perhaps the most widely 
circulated and influential of American newspapers. It 
had at its command every resource of ability, influence, 
and money, and it is not to be supposed that it was un- 
familiar with the technicalities of the New York State 
laws relating to libel or the difficulties in the way of any 
one who might try to obtain a verdict against it in such 
a suit. It had but to establish in court its own good faith 
and prove or show reasonable cause for belief in and 
circulation of a single one of its major charges, and the 
whole history of American jurisprudence in similar cases 
showed that it would be acquitted. But one thing favored 

the suit. of H.P.B.: the fact that this time, quite the 


“THE SUN” LIBEL CASE 221 


contrary of the Coulomb charges, the S.P.R. report, 
and the numerous prior attacks upon her and her mis- 
sion—this tume the charges were direct, made as state- 
ments of fact, not of opinion, hearsay, conclusion, m- 
ference, or wnuendo. If H.P.B. was actually guilty of 
a single one of the offenses charged against her, she 
was ruined, ineradicably branded with the stigma of a 
convicted rogue—her enemies triumphant, her Society 
exploded, her followers buried in ignominy, her mission 
and her ‘‘Theosophy’’ a thing of contempt and of de- 
rision. 

The issue was squarely joined, with no possibility of 
evasion by either party to the suit. This time it was 
not a friendless and slandered woman forced into the 
position where she must suffer in silence or essay the 
hopeless task of proving herself innocent of the fabrica- 
tions of irresponsible evil- and malicious-minded assas- 
sins of her good name. It was a great and powerful 
newspaper faced with the simple task of proving her 
guilty of a single one of its numerous charges by the 
simple process of bringing into Court in its behalf the 
Coues, the Bundys, the Hodgsons, the Coulombs, the 
Colemans, the Sidgwicks, the Myers, the Masseys, the 
Lillies, the Collinses, and all the other still living ‘‘wit- 
nesses’? who had fathered or circulated the ‘‘evidence’’ 
which for so many years had been industriously spread 
before the public to ‘‘prove’’ H.P.B. a fraud, her phe- 
nomena bogus, her teachings a theft or a plagiarism. 
Certainly, on the assumption that at some time in her 
life H.P.B. had been indiscreet in her relations with 
men, at some time participant in questionable trans- 
actions, at some time engaged in anything disreputable, 
at some time party to fraudulent phenomena, at some 
time profiting by her ‘‘hoax,’’ the task before the Sun 
Was an easy one. 

The case was pressed with the utmost vigor by 
H.P.B.’s attorneys, but the usual ‘‘law’s delays’’ were 
invoked and taken advantage of in the defense. In The 
Path for March, 1891, a statement of the then status of 
the suit was published under the caption, ‘‘The Libel 


222 


THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


Suits Against New York Sun and Klbott Coues.’’ 
article reads: 


Several letters inquiring about these suits 
having been received, and various rumors about 
them having arisen, facts are given. 

It is not possible to bring any suit to trial in 
New York very quickly, as all the calendars are 
crowded and suitors have to await their turn. 

It is not possible in New York to have news- 
papers notice the progress of suits for libel 
against other newspapers, as an agreement ex- 
ists between the various editors that no such 
publication will be made. Hence the silence 
about the above-mentioned actions. 

The actions were begun in earnest and are 
awaiting trial. They will be continued until a 
verdict is reached or a retraction given. 

One victory has been gained in this way. The 
New York Sum put in a long answer to Mme. 
Blavatsky’s complaint and her lawyers de- 
murred to its sufficiency as a defence. That 
question of law was argued before Judge Beach 
in the Supreme Court, and on the argument the 
lawyers for the Sun confessed in open court 
their ability to prove the charge of immorality 
on which the suit hes, and asked to be allowed 
to retain the mass of irrelevant matter in the 
answer. ‘These matters could only have been 
meant to prejudice a jury. But Judge Beach 
sustained Mme. Blavatsky’s objection and 
ordered that the objectionable matter be stricken 
out. The case now looks merely like one in 
which the only question will be the amount of 
damages, and everything must now stand until 
the case is reached in the Trial Term. This 
decision on the demurrer was a substantial 
victory. The suit against Dr. Elliott Coues is in 
exactly the same condition. 


The 


“THE SUN” LIBEL CASE 223 


Madame Blavatsky died in May of the same year— 
1891—and, under the Laws of New York, her death auto- 
matically terminated the suit brought by her against the 
Sun. Myr. Judge, however, continued to press his own 
suit, although the allegations originally made against 
himself were rather ridicule than slander. Finally, on 
September 26, 1892, the Sun, which by this time had be- 
come convinced of the great wrong perpetrated through 
it, voluntarily published, in partial amends, an editorial 
article repudiating the Coues interview, and a long ar- 
ticle by Mr. Judge devoted to a tribute to the life-work 
and character of H. P. Blavatsky. The editorial re- 
traction reads: 


We print on another page an article in which 
Wiuuram Q. Jupce deals with the romantic 
and extraordinary career of the late Madame 
Heuena P. Buavatsxy. We take occasion to 
observe that on July 20, 1890, we were misled 
into admitting into the Sum’s columns an article 
by Dr. E. F. Covss of Washington, in which alle- 
gations were made against Madame Buavatsky’s 
character, and also against her followers, which 
appear to have been without solid foundation. 
Mr. Jupce’s article disposes of all questions re- 
lating to Madame Buavartsxy as presented by Dr. 
Cours, and we desire to say that his allega- 
tions respecting the Theosophical Society and 
Mr. Jupcs personally are not sustained by evi- 
dence, and should not have been printed. 


It is probable that few Theosophical students of the 
present day have ever seen the article written by Mr. 
Judge on H.P.B. at the invitation of the Sun, and in- 
eluded as part of its editorial retraction by the words 
‘“‘Mr. Judge’s article disposes of all questions relating 
to Madame Blavatsky as presented by Dr. Coues.’’ The 
article itself, and the accompanying editorial endorse- 
ment and retraction, should be contrasted with the two 


224: THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


editorials from the Sun first quoted in the present chap- 
ter and with the Coues charges, in order fully to realize 
the complete reversal of its position by the Sun. This 
can be accounted for only on two grounds: (1) that the 
Sun after vigorous and prolonged efforts to find evi- 
dence to support even one of the charges found that they 
were mere calumnies, and (2) that its publishers were 
men honorable enough voluntarily to make amends for 
the wrong done by publishing a retraction, even after 
the death of H.P.B. had freed them from all risk of 
damages. 

Theosophists, out of loyalty and gratitude to H.P.B. 
who brought them—at what cost to herself we have partly 
seen—the message of Theosophy, would do well to in- 
form themselves fully on the Coues-Collins and Sun case, 
for they cover every accusation ever hurled at H.P.B.’s 
good name and fame; they constitute the only case where 
the charges were made directly, and by a responsible 
channel. The outcome of the case constitutes an abso- 
lute vindication of H.P.B. and an equally emphatic 
exposure of the bad faith or the ignorance of those who 
have since repeated those slanders. Yet years later one 
and another of the Coues-Collins-Sun charges have been 
repeated and have gained very wide publicity because 
of the supposed high character of the parties making 
them, for example, by ‘‘Margot Tennant’’ (wife of 
Herbert Asquith, ex-Prime Minister of Great Britain, 
in her ‘‘Intimate Diary’’), and by the late Count Witte, 
for many years one of the leading Ministers of the Rus- 
sian Himpire under the régime of the late Czar. Count 
Witte was a cousin of H.P.B., but as he was many 
years her junior, he knew her only as a boy and saw her 
but a few times. In his published ‘‘Memoirs’’ the old 
charges of immorality first directly made by Coues and 
the Sun are circumstantially repeated. He does not pro- 
fess to speak from knowledge, but for the same inscrut- 
able reasons that have prompted so many others, does 
not hesitate to repeat these abominable calumnies at 
second-hand. The outcome of the Sun case gives the lie 
to the Witte slanders upon the dead. Students may be 


“THE SUN” LIBEL CASE 225 


interested to know that Count Witte’s own mother, a 
devoted member of the orthodox Greek Catholic Church, 
remained to her dying day the warm friend and cham- 
pion of H.P.B. Vile as must be considered the char- 
acters of those who originate or circulate unverified base 
charges against the living, they are respectable in com- 
parison with those who continue to revile the defenseless 
dead. 

After the battle in the Sun and its sequence, Dr. Coues 
fled ingloriously from the field; his Gnostic society melted 
away like a shadow, his prestige waned, and he died in 
obscurity in 1899. His Esoteric Theosophical Society 
exists only as a forgotten echo of his own bombast and 
pretense. After the Sun retraction he never again ven- 
tured to thrust himself on public attention as an ‘‘Oc- 
cultist.’’ 


CHAPTER XV 
OLCOTT VERSUS H.P.B. 


ATTENTION must now be turned from the external 
aspects of the struggle of contending forces accompany- 
ing the progress of the Theosophical Movement, as ex- 
emplified in the Coues-Collins’ storm, and the arena 
regarded from another point of view altogether—the 
issues as personified in H.P.B., Mr. Judge, and Col. 
Olcott, who, as said, represented in their own persons 
the three Sections of that Movement, exoteric and 
esoteric.? 

In the first decade of the Movement, as manifested in 
the exoteric Theosophical Society, the work of the three 
Founders was concordant and coherent. The Society 
erew rapidly in numbers and influence and became firmly 
established in America, Hurope, and India. Minor op- 
position attended its course from external antagonistic 
factors and numerous internal disturbances arose, but 
none of these was of serious moment, because no dis- 
sensions existed among the Founders. Enemies without 
and trouble makers within could find nothing ‘‘whereon 
to stand’’ asafulerum. The first breach in the solidarity 
of the Founders was effected in the year 1881. It did 
not become a matter of public knowledge until 1895, and 
consideration of it must be deferred until the events of 
that period, but the fact should be noted in seeking to 
understand the origins of the successive phases of the 
Movement.? 

Public reference was made to the existence of the 
inner Sections of the Movement at the close of the first 
seven years. Irom then on more and more frequent 
allusions to the Second Section, its superior importance, 


*See Chapter IX. 
7See Chapters XXIV and XXXIV. 


226 


OLCOTT VERSUS H.P.B. 227 


its rules and discipline, its guardianship of the exoteric 
work, its provisions for the more earnest and worthy 
members of the Third Section or Theosophical Society 
proper, may be found in public print. Finally, in 1888, 
a definite, formal, public announcement was made of the 
formation of the Esoteric Section of the T.S., as a pro- 
bationary degree of the Second Section of the Theosophi- 
cal Movement. And, under the protection of the 
‘‘pledge’’ and the seal of confidence, information was 
given to all applicants of the real purpose of the Move- 
ment, the real status of the Society, the real Objects of 
the invisible Founders—the Masters of Wisdom. 

The first ten years was marked, exoterically, by the 
Coulomb charges and the Report of the Society for Psy- 
chical Research. Esoterically, both these were made pos- 
sible and enabled to achieve an immense damage to the 
Movement, through the hidden rupture between the three 
Sections of the Movement, the First and Second Sections 
on the one hand, the Third Section on the other; between 
the esoteric side of the Movement as personified in H. 
P.B., Mr. Judge and Damodar, and the exoteric, as 
personified by Col. Olcott, Mr. Sinnett, and the Indian 
Council. At the time, the only public signs of this breach 
were the failure to defend H.P.B. as strenuously as she 
was attacked; her resignation and departure from India 
and from active connection with the Society; the public 
and private disclaimers of Col. Olcott and others of any 
reliance of their own or of the Society on the assumed 
Occult status or powers of H.P.B.; their assertion of 
the ability of the Society to stand on its own merits 
apart from H. P. Blavatsky as the direct Agent of the 
Masters; apart from her paramount status as the con- 
necting link between those Masters and the Society; 
apart from her teachings of Theosophy as the authori- 
tative exposition of the Wisdom-Religion. 

Although they had abundant warnings, both from the 
teachings of Theosophy and from messages received by 
them directly from the Masters, that their views of 
H.P.B. were erroneous in fact and illogical in principle, 
and although not one of them himself had, or professed 


228 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


to have, any Occult powers of his own, nevertheless their 
fundamentally false view of the nature of H.P.B. com- 
pelled them, little by little, to take a divergent path. In 
the beginning, doubts; next, private dissent and dissim- 
ulation; then a middle ground, public temporizing, and 
secret plotting; finally, open repudiation of her Occult 
status and standing in the Society, in the Movement, in 
Theosophy. 

The stage of dissent and dissimulation was reached 
and practiced in 1884 and the following years. Compelled 
by their involvement with her in the affairs of the So- 
ciety and their joint sponsorship for the numerous 
miraculous events attributed to the course of its history, 
a lukewarm support was publicly given to H.P.B., while 
in private a determined effort was made to suppress and 
‘‘control’’? her in the common interest. During these 
years W. Stainton Moses (‘‘M.A. Oxon’’), C. C. Massey, 
A. O. Hume, V. V. Solovyoff, W. T. Brown, Mrs. Jose- 
phine Cables, Mohini M. Chatterji, Mr. Cooper-Oakley, 
and numerous others, both members of the Society and 
probationers of the Second Section, succumbed to inner 
and outer influences and left the Society, but Col. Olcott, 
Mr. Sinnett, and many others continued with the Society 
and its work, because, however much they doubted 
H.P.B., they were none the less convinced of the exist- 
ence of the Masters and the value of the Society in the 
work of the Movement, provided only that they could 
themselves direct and control its destinies. Followed 
Col. Oleott’s private but violent opposition to the forma- 
tion of the Esoteric Section, and to the lines of direc- 
tion that H.P.B. and Mr. Judge were attempting to lay 
and energize within the Society by the establishment of 
the Ksoteric Section and by their magazines, The Path 
and Lucifer.® 

The cleavage at this time went almost to the verge of 
the establishment by H.P.B. and Mr. Judge of a new 
Society composed of those Western Theosophists who 
would remain true to the original impetus and its lines, 
and would have so resulted had not Col. Oleott and those 

*See Chapters IX and X. 


OLCOTT VERSUS H.P.B. 229 


associated with his views modified their conduct. Con- 
cerned not at all with or over Col. Olcott’s or any one’s 
opinions in regard to themselves, but intent only on the 
Cause itself, H.P.B. and W.Q.J. used every effort to 
encourage, to sustain, to uphold him and others in their 
devotion and their place in the Society, so long as work 
was done and a possibility remained to keep the three 
lines of the Movement intact, coherent, and in proper 
relation. Nothing was omitted that might assuage the 
several vanities, jealousies, ambitions, and fears of Col. 
Olcott and his co-workers; everything possible was done 
to convince them that place, power, authority and 
dominion were not sought by H.P.B. 

Then came the Coues-Collins-Sun attack. There can 
be no doubt, we think, that Dr. Coues counted that if he 
led the assault he would be supported openly by Col. 
Olcott and others prominent within the Society, and for 
this he had what to him were sound reasons, as has been 
indicated. Backed by his own prestige with the gen- 
eral public and that of Olcott and others with the So- 
ciety’s membership, knowing the general discredit heaped 
upon H.P.B. by the S.P.R. Report, knowing well the 
private opinions of Col. Olcott, Mr. Sinnett, and others 
in regard to her—what more natural than that he should 
consider his forces more than ample to so utterly crush 
the reputation of H.P.B. that she would be permanently 
eliminated as a factor in the Society, which could then 
be re-organized and re-built on lines agreeable to himself 
and his own ambitions, with himself as its bright particu- 
lar star in the West? Able and astute, his plans suc- 
ceeded perfectly with Miss Mabel Collins, but his mas- 
ter-stroke failed with Col. Olcott. This he could not 
know in advance, but his knowledge of conditions and 
the progress of his correspondence with the President- 
Founder gave him every reason to believe that the dis- 
affection so artfully fanned would burst to flame in open 
treason when the battle should be joined. He reckoned 
without his host in the final issue, but how nearly he suc- 
ceeded is indicated by the letter to him from Col. Olcott 


*See Chapters XII and XIV. 


230 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


which we have given, and by the course pursued by the 
President-Founder during all that stormy period—a 
course which we have now to trace. 

That course was one which could but aid the battle 
being waged to destroy the moral reputation and 
Occult status of H.P.B. and her chief defender, Mr. 
Judge, so far as that could be achieved without imperil- 
ing the Society and his own importance in it to the point 
of irretrievable disaster. Colonel Olcott was willing 
to go thus far in order to upset the paramount unofficial 
influence of H.P.B. and her colleague; reduce them to 
what he considered their proper place and subordina- 
tion in the ranks; and at the same time enhance and 
render secure his own position and power as the recog- 
nized Official Head of the Society. In all this Col. Olcott 
was honest and sincere. It was but the logical develop- 
ment of his own basic misconception and misunderstand- 
ing of Masters, Their Movement, and Their Society—all 
alike menaced by the ‘‘irresponsible’’ and ‘‘unconstitu- 
tional’’ procedure of H.P.B. However mistaken or mis- 
guided his views, he was absolutely honest and devoted 
to what he conceived to be the best interests of the So- 
ciety. It was precisely this honesty and devotion to the 
Society, however inconsistent and illogical his mind 
might be, that H.P.B. recognized, and that Dr. Coues 
failed utterly to reckon with. 

Negatively, Col. Oleott’s state of mind is attested by his 
total failure to align himself with his colleagues while 
they were being sorely beset by traitors within and by 
enemies without. As in 1884-5 and again in 1886-7, his 
sole thought was for the Society and himself—for the 
Society as personified in himself. Its troubles and his 
troubles were, in his opinion, not due to any falling away 
from its Objects, any mistakes or misunderstandings of 
his own, but to the wrong and perverse actions of H.P.B. 
and Mr. Judge. They had gotten the Society, themselves 
and himself into serious difficulties in spite of his best 
efforts to prevent. Very well; it was for them to extri- 
cate and clear themselves if they could, and in so doing 
learn a needed lesson. That was their affair, not his. 


OLCOTT VERSUS H.P.B. 231 


His duty was to protect the Society and himself as its 
responsible Head and Guardian, at all hazards and from 
all hazards; and the chief of these hazards was the ‘‘fric- 
tion of strong personalities,’’ due to the ‘‘unauthorized’’ 
and ‘‘irregular’’ actions of H.P.B. and W.Q.J., as 
opposed to his own ‘‘official’’ procedure. 

Affirmatively, Col. Olecott’s predominating attitude is 
evidenced (1) by the record made by himself and his inti- 
mates at the time; (2) by his own disclosures made many 
years afterward; (3) by the record made by H.P.B. 
and Mr. Judge. From all these the student can piece to- 
gether the pattern which shows the workings of con- 
sciousness of the three Founders during the storm of 
1889-90. 

‘‘Old Diary Leaves,’’ Fourth Series, to which we shall 
have to refer, was published in book form after the death 
of Col. Olcott. There are many omissions of the text 
as originally printed in The Theosophist, Volumes 21 and 
22, ten years after the events discussed therein. Quota- 
tions here given, therefore, should be verified by refer- 
ence to the original text in The Theosophust. 

Volume 21, p. 199, Col. Olcott describes the situation 
just prior to his visit to Europe in 1888. He puts it 
thus: . 


Portents of a coming storm in our Kuropean 
groups, stirred up or intensified by H.P.B., be- 
gin to show themselves, and Judge complains of 
our neglecting him. Just then Dr. Coues was 
working hard for the notoriety he craved and 
Judge was opposing him. 


Then ‘‘Old Diary Leaves’’ gives extracts from pri- 
vate letters written by Mr. Judge to Col. Olcott, as 
follows: 


May 21, 1888: I am always striving to keep 
your name at the top, for until your death you 
must be at the head. 

June 8, 1888: Certain matters are occurring 
here which need attention and action. ... His 


232 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


(Coues’) policy is to place himself at the head 
of some wonderful unknown thing through 
which (save the mark!) communications are al- 
leged to come from Masters. He also in a large 
sense wishes to pull the T.S. away from your 
jurisdiction and make himself the Grand Mogul 
of it in this country. ...J1 know that....° 
policy is to retain complete control m you, and 
my desire is to keep the American Section as a 
dependency of the General Council m India; 
hence you are the President. Jt was never my 
intention to dissever, but to bind, and the form 
of our Constitution clearly shows that. That’s 
why no President is elected or permitted here. 
... 80 I would recommend that you call the 
Council and consider our Constitution, which 
ought long ago to have been done—and decide 
that we are in affiliation and subordination to 
India and that we are recognized as part of the 
General Council, with power to have a Secretary 
as an (official) channel, but not to have a yearly 
President but only a Chairman at each Conven- 
tion. . . . I cannot work this thing here properly 
without your co-operation. 

June 15, 1888: Until you two die it is folly 
for others to whistle against the wind. Masters 
and I"ederation! 


Colonel Olcott’s comments on Mr. Judge’s letters show 
that in January, 1900, when he was writing, he as totally 
misconceived them, as at the time of their reception in 
1888; that he saw in them nothing but ‘‘the building up 
of a new structure of falsehood, fraud and treachery 
in which to house new idols.’’ 

Then followed Col. Oleott’s visit to England and his 
‘pitched battle with H.P.B.’’ over the various matters 
at issue—the trouble in the Paris Branch, the Charter 
of the Blavatsky Lodge, the formation of the British 
Section of the T.S., on the model of the previously 


OLCOTT VERSUS H.P.B. 233 


formed American Section, and the formation of the Hso- 
teric Section.® In all these matters at stake, as well as 
Cooper-Oakley’s severance from the editorial staff of 
The Theosophist, Col. Olcott yielded, partly under the 
influence of his renewed association with H.P.B., partly 
because he saw that he had come to the parting of the 
ways. Mr. Judge came over to England and the three 
Founders became once more, for the time being, ap- 
parently of one aim, purpose, and feeling. To strengthen 
and maintain this bond after their separation and re- 
turn, each to his own field of labor, H.P.B. and Mr. 
Judge arranged that delegates from the American and 
British Section should go with Col. Oleott to Adyar and 
represent those Sections at the forthcoming ‘‘parlia- 
ment’’ or Convention of the Society in India, at the end 
of December, 1888. 

Richard Harte, a former New York newspaper man, 
an old-time personal friend of Col. Olcott, who had 
been a member of the Society since 1878, was then in 
London and had acquired considerable reputation among 
Theosophists as the alleged writer of the famous edi- 
torial in Lucifer for December, 1887, entitled ‘‘ Lucifer 
to the Archbishop of Canterbury, Greeting!’’ Him, Col. 
Olcott selected for his editorial associate on The The- 
osophist. Thereupon Mr. Judge arranged with the Ex- 
ecutive Committee of the American Council to have Mr. 
Harte act as delegate for the American Section and to 
give Mr. Harte instructions to represent to the Indian 
Convention that the American Section favored the 
restoration to Col. Olcott of the powers and authority 
vested in the Indian Council early in 1885,° as noted in a 
former chapter. Mr. Charles Johnston, long a resident 
of India, was similarly chosen as delegate of the British 
Section. 

Colonel Olcott returned to India later in the fall of 
1888. Volume 21, pp. 322-3, gives his reminiscences of 
the month preceding the Convention. He says: 


*See Chapter X. 
*See Chapters VII and XI. 


234 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


The Executive Council met as usual, on the 
following Sunday [after his return], and passed 
resolutions thoroughly approving of my doings 
in Kurope.... 

At a Council meeting [in December], a resolu- 
tion was unanimously passed to convert itself 
into an Advisory body and restore to me the full 
executive powers which, in 1885, I had consented 
to have curtailed, to satisfy some who thought it 
would be better to have several bosses instead 
of one. The thing did not work well enough to 
continue it, and all my colleagues were but too 
glad to re-shift the responsibility to my shoul- 
ders rather than keep it themselves. It was all 
the same to me, for even during the intervals I 
virtually had to do all the work, and the Coun- 
cil meetings grew more and more perfunctory— 
as Council meetings usually do, when there is 
some leader who may be counted on to pull the 
stroke-oar and get, the boat on the straight 
course when cross winds blow. 


The same pages contain Col. Olcott’s comments on 
two other matters which were to come before the Con- 
vention. Of the first of these he says: 


Tranquil days of work and pleasant conversa- 
tion followed, but before long I began to see 
signs of discontent spreading to some extent 
among certain few Branches, the result of un- 
derhand schemings by one or two malcontents, 
who were unfriendly to H.P.B. This passed 
off in time, although a desperate attempt was 
made at that year’s Convention to make trouble 
for me. The Bombay Branch sent me, on No- 
vember 30th, a resolution recommending that 
T. Subba Row, who had resigned, be asked to 
come back to us, but I have positively refused 
to lower the Society’s dignity in any similar case, 
however influential might be the seceder. 


OLCOTT VERSUS H.P.B. 235 


The other matter mentioned, which also includes the 
preceding, is described as follows: 


The Convention Delegates began arriving on 
the 24th of December. On Christmas Day I got 
a foolish cablegram from H.P.B., threatening 
the resignation of herself and the entire Bla- 
vatsky Lodge should Cooper-Oakley be re-ad- 
mitted to membership; the act showing the state 
of nervous excitement into which the Subba Row 
imbroglio had thrown her. She used the name of 
the Blavatsky Lodge and of certain of its mem- 
bers so often in her letters, as condemning me ut- 
terly and backing her views unreservedly, that it 
became at last tiresome. Considering our per- 
sonal relations, the identity of our ages, and our 
joint relationship to our Guru, it seemed to me 
ridiculous that the dicta of a group of junior col- 
leagues, however warm partisans of hers, should 
influence me to act against my own judgment in 
questions of management. I wrote her at last 

- that if she sent me any more round robins or 
protests from the same quarter I should neither 
read nor answer her letters; our affairs must be 
settled between ourselves without the interfer- 
ence of third parties. Answering me, she ad- 
mitted the correctness of my argument and the 
exasperating documents ceased to arrive. 


Theosophical students generally have never gone to 
the labor necessary in checking Col. Oleott’s very nu- 
merous misstatements of fact and his very frequent 
contradictions, but have accepted his testimony and his 
conclusions alike as accurate and just. The matters just 
quoted are a case in point. The fact is very plain from 
his other statements earlier referred to* that he himself 
was the chief ‘‘malcontent,’’ for it was The Theosophist 
that precipitated the ‘‘Subba Row imbroglio’’ by pub- 
lishing the criticisms on the ‘‘seven-fold classification 

™See Chapter X. 


236 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


of principles.’’ It was himself who*supported Mr. 
Cooper-Oakley, its Editor, to the very point of a rupture 
with H.P.B. It was himself, in absolute control both 
of the Council and the Indian Convention, who favored 
the invitation not to Subba Row only, but to Mr. Cooper- 
Oakley and others, ‘‘to come back to us.’’ It was him- 
self who had the affair all staged to become a fait 
accompli before H.P.B. should hear of it, and only her 
prompt and decisive cablegram to him two days before 
the Convention convened, upset the cut-and-dried pro- 
gram. The matter had already gone so far it could 
not be kept out of the proceedings of the Convention, 
but her cablegram once more convinced Olcott that he 
had over-shot his mark. The Convention Report, care- 
fully prepared and edited by Richard Harte to conform 
to the exigencies of Col. Olcott’s course in this and the 
other actions taken by the Convention, reads as follows: 


Second Day, Friday, December 28, 1888. 


The President called on the Secretary to read 
a resolution of the Bombay Branch, to the ef- 
fect that the President should urge upon certain 
ex-lellows to resume their connection with the 
Society, and which he, the President, had been 
particularly requested to lay before the Conven- 
tion. A debate ensued, in which the unanimous 
opinion was expressed that such a step would be 
incompatible with the dignity of the Society. 
Thereupon Mr. Harte moved,... that the 
document and the whole subject should be laid 
upon the table, which was carried unanimously. 


This was the ‘‘desperate attempt at that year’s Con- 
vention to make trouble for me’’ over the Subba Row 
imbroglio that Col. Olcott’s reminiscences so graphically 
and so inaccurately portray and comment upon. 

Mr. Harte and Mr. Johnston duly expressed to the 
Convention the authorized wish of their respective Sec- 
tions that the executive powers of the President should 


OLCOTT VERSUS H.P.B. 237 


be restored to him by formal action of the Conven- 
tion. According to the Report, Mr. Johnston went fur- 
ther and stated on behalf of the British Section: ‘‘It was 
further their opinion that Fees and Dues should be 
abolished, and the Society be placed upon a basis of 
voluntary support. As the President had intimated that 
he intended to place him (Mr. Johnston) on the Com- 
mittee for the amendment of the Rules, he would not make 
any further remarks at present.’’ As the Report fol- 
lows immediately with a copy of the Rules of the British 
Section and those Rules provided explicitly both for fees 
for the support of the Section and for contributions to 
the Society, it is evident (1) that Mr. Johnston either 
was not correctly reported in his remarks, or (2) that 
he exceeded his instructions and authority from the newly 
organized British Section. Page 42 of the Report con- 
tains the statement as the conclusion of the ‘‘Report of 
the Executive Council’’: 


Resolutions were also adopted to submit for 
favorable consideration suggestions made by the 
American and British Sections for the abolition 
of Entrance Fees and Annual Dues, and for the 
reorganization of the whole Society upon a basis 
of Sectional Divisions with an autonomous char- 
acter, but dependent and subject to the super- 
vision and executive control of the President in 
Council, as representative of the collective au- 
tonomy of the whole Society. The Council is of 
opinion that radical changes in the Rules are 
needed, and recommend that the whole subject 
be referred to a Committee on Rules with in- 
structions to report an amended Code to the 
present Convention, for its approval. 


No one, after reading the extracts just given from 
**Old Diary Leaves’’ can doubt that the Executive Coun- 
cil was merely Col. Olcott under a convenient cloak. 
A long set of ‘‘Revised Rules’? was immediately pre- 
sented to the Convention and the Report says: 


238 


The nine pages of the Report immediately following 
the official proceedings are devoted to elaborate ‘‘ Intro- 
ductory Explanations”’’ of the ‘‘Revised Rules,’’ which, 
upon examination, will be found to be in fact an entirely 


THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


The Rules, as read out one by one by the Sec- 
retary, were debated by Sections, amended, and 
voted upon. The President was empowered, on 
motion of Mr. S. Ramaswamier ... to edit 
the text, and make necessary corrections therein 
before sending it to the printer. 


new Constitution. 


Turning now to the official Report of the democratic 
American Section held at Chicago in April, 1889, follow- 
ing, and to the report of Mr. Judge as General Secre- 
tary to that Convention on the matters just considered, 


Mr. Judge there says: 


My Report for this year has to deal with the 
progress of the Society’s work since our last 
Convention, and certain changes which have been 
made by the Convention in India in last De- 
cember. I propose to consider the last first. 

The Secretary in charge in India has already 
sent to most of the Branches a copy of the ‘‘Re- 
vised Rules.’’ By reading those, together with 
the Report of the Convention held there, it will 
be seen that apparently the purpose to revise the 
rules and abolish fees and dues was proposed by 
the American and English Sections, acting 
through their Delegates, Mr. Richard Harte and 
Mr. Charles Johnston. Mr. Harte was delegated 
by the Executive Committee, at the time he left 
London for India, to represent the American 
Section at that Convention, but, at the same time, 
written instructions were given him, very defi- 
nitely stating that all that the American Section 
required him to do was to endeavor to restore 
to Col. Oleott the powers which he had volun- 
tarily given up at a previous date, and those 


OLCOTT VERSUS H.P.B. 


were stated to be the only changes which he 
should say we were in favor of. It was not then 
thought that any proposal to abolish fees and 
dues would be made, and, as Mr. Harte was him- 
self present in New York when our Constitu- 
tion governing the American Section was passed, 
and knew our policy in carrying on the work 
here, it never for a moment occurred to the Eix- 
ecutive Committee that it was necessary to say 
any more than we had said, and as our Consti- 
tution declared our autonomy which had been 
granted prior to the passage of the Constitution, 
and which has since been affirmed in the Conven- 
tion in India, even if we had been told in ad- 
vance what was proposed to be done, we should 
have thought it to be impossible, as well as 
injudicious. 

The ‘‘Revised Rules’? also amend the ‘‘ob- 
jects’’ of the Society by altering them and add- 
ing to them, and, in a paper published in the 
succeeding issue of the ‘‘Theosophist’’ signed 
“HH. T. S.’’ an attempt is made to show that the 
‘“objects have never been definitely formulated.’’ 
This article is full of misconceptions, and, there- 
fore, of wrong conclusions, because the gentle- 
man who wrote it was not acquainted with the 
facts nor in possession of the records. He re- 
fers to the printed ‘‘Rules’’ of each year, and 
says that in 1882 for the first time they appeared 
as they were printed last year, but on looking 
over my records I find, not only that they have 
always been the same—except in minor elabora- 
tions not affecting the substance,—but that they 
were originally formulated in the shape they 
appeared before the last Convention in India, at 
the time that this Society was organized in 
1875. 

. . . These alterations seem to be injudicious. 
I therefore suggest to the Convention that a 
Resolution be passed dissenting from the ad- 


239 


240 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


visability of these alterations and requesting a 
restoration, if possible, to the old form. 

In the second place, all dues and fees are at- 
tempted to be abolished, and the source of rev- 
enue for expenses made to depend on voluntary 
contributions. 

You will note that these ‘‘Revised Rules’’ re- 
affirm the autonomy we claimed in 1886 which 
was subsequently ratified. There is no incon- 
sistency in our declaring autonomy in respect to 
the internal affairs of the Section and, at the 
same time, our allegiance to the cause and to the 
Society as a whole. 

I am authorized by Mme. Blavatsky to say 
that she is not in favor of the change, and the 
majority of the British Section also disagree 
with it, and have stated that their delegate was 
not authorized to consent to it. 


Mr. Judge goes on to say that, aware of the senti- 
ment of the American and British Sections, he had writ- 
ten to Adyar protesting against the proposed change in 
the matter of dues, and had received a reply from ‘‘Bro. 
Harte, the Secretary, enclosing a copy of a Resolution 
passed by the Commissioners in charge during Col. 
Olcott’s absence.’’ That Resolution ‘‘suspended until 
further order’’ that portion of the ‘‘Revised Rules’’ re- 
lating to fees and dues. This was subsequently ‘‘rati- 
fied’’ by the Indian ‘‘Council’’ and confirmed by a change 
in the ‘‘Rules’’ at the next succeeding Adyar Conven- 
tion, which was not held until 1890, owing to the absence 
of Col. Olcott in Europe in December, 1889—of which in 
due course.® 


By referring to ‘‘Old Diary Leaves,’’ Volume 21 of 
The Theosophist, at pages 324-5, comparison of Col. 
Oleott’s comments with those of Mr. Judge can be made. 
Thus: 


®See Chapter XVII. 


OLCOTT VERSUS H.P.B. 


Consistently with my policy to give every 
chance to my colleagues to try experiments 
which seemed to them to promise well for the 
Society’s interest, I acceded to their wish that we 
should try what effect the complete abolition of 
entrance fees and annual dues, and the trusting 
for the Society’s support to voluntary contribu- 
tions, would have. Personally, I did not believe 
in the scheme, though I officially supported it. 
.. . But the Convention voted for the change, 
upon the motion of the representatives of the 
British and American Sections present; I con- 
curred, and issued the necessary Executive No- 
tices, to clear the way. 

The first effect was that angry protests broke 
out in both the Western Sections; H.P.B. wrote 
me a violent letter, denouncing me as a vacillator 
and liberally reporting what so and so, her 
friends and colleagues, said about my incon- 
sistency, after having just effected the organ- 
ization of a British Section and giving it the 
right to levy the customary entrance fees and 
annual dues; while Judge and his party openly 
revolted and refused to comply with the new or- 
der of things. Secretly I was rather amused to 
see how much of a mess was being made by mar- 
plots eager to have a finger in the pie, and was 
disposed to give them rope to hang themselves 
with. It was not long before the experiment 
failed and we returned to the old method. . .. 

The other important thing done by the Con- 
vention of 1888 was the adoption of the policy of 
re-organizing the Society’s work on the line of 
autonomous Sections: this having been the mo- 
tive prompting me originally to grant, in 1886, 
a Charter to the American Section and, later, 
one to the new Section in London. The plan had 
proved an entire success in America, and after 
two years of testing it in practice it seemed but 
fair to extend it to all our fields of activity. It 


241 


24.2 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


was an admirable plan in every respect .. . and 
the Society changed from a quasi-autocracy to a 
constitutional Federation, each part independent 
as to its internal affairs, but responsible to 
every other part for its loyal support of the 
movement and its ideals and of the Federal Cen- 
tre, which bound the whole together, like the 
fasces of the lictor, into an unbreakable bundle. 


The elaborate ‘‘Introductory Explanations’’ to the 
‘‘Revised Rules’’ published in the ‘‘Supplement’’ to The 
Theosophist for January, 1889, was followed in the 
February number by an article on ‘‘The Theosophical 
Society,’? and signed in both cases with the initials 
“HW. T. S.’? Both articles were undoubtedly written by 
Mr. Harte. It was these articles which were referred 
to by Mr. Judge in his report to the American Sec- 
tion. Both articles should be examined with great care 
as they mark the public features of a sustained cam- 
paign on the part of Col. Olcott and his associates to 
subordinate the esoteric aspect of the Theosophical 
Movement to the exoteric Society, to center the atten- 
tion of the membership on the Society, and to make 
of the Indian headquarters and Col. Olcott the prime 
object of allegiance and devotion, as the visible head and 
front of the Movement. This campaign was coincident 
with the Coues-Collins’ developments and can be taken 
only as co-ordinate with them. 

‘‘The Theosophical Society’’ first attempts to show 
that in the beginning the Society had no determinate 
purpose, no definite lines of direction, but was an ‘‘evo- 
lution’’ from unintended, unforeseen, unexpected stages. 

‘‘The Theosophical Society’’ then takes up the Ob- 
jects of the Society and speaks of them also as a 
‘*development.’’ 

Curiously enough, ‘‘F. T. S.,’’ goes on to say, later in 
his article: 


This variation in the declared objects of the 
Society [those just promulgated in the ‘‘Re- 


OLCOTT VERSUS H.P.B. 243 


vised Rules’’] must not be taken as indicating 
any real change in the intentions of the Found- 
ers. There is abundant evidence in their writ- 
mgs and speeches that from the first their pur- 
poses were to stumulate the spiritual develop- 
ment of the indwidual and, to awaken in the race 
the sentiment of Brotherhood. 


‘‘The Theosophical Society’’ was followed in the June, 
1889, Theosophist by two more articles. 


CHAPTER XVI 
OLCOTT’S ATTEMPT TO CENTRALIZE ALL AUTHORITY 


~Wuen the January, 1889, Theosophist with its Report 
of the Adyar Convention, and the February number with 
the articles noted, reached America, Mr. Judge consid- 
ered them in his report as General Secretary of the Con- 
vention of the American Section. How the issues raised 
were met has been shown in the citations given both 
from Mr. Judge’s report 1 and from the Letter of H.P.B. 
to the same Convention. Lucifer for March, 1889, con- 
tained an editorial ‘‘On Pseudo-Theosophy,’’ in which, 
taking advantage of an article in the London Daily News 
which amused itself by some comments on Dr. Franz 
Hartmann’s novel, ‘‘The Talking Image of Urur,’’ then 
running in Lucifer, H.P.B. without naming any names 
discussed the counter-currents in the Society. In Luc- 
fer for June she published the article, ‘‘It’s the Cat,’’ 
which was ‘‘Dedicated to those Members of the T.S. 
whom the Cap may fit.’’ Again without naming persons, 
she pays attention to those who would make of her ‘‘the 
eat,’’ 2.€., the scapegoat for all the sins of omission 
and commission of the Society and its members. 

It was the habit with the three leading Theosophical 
publications to send to each other advance proofs of all 
forthcoming important articles. All the above cited arti- 
cles should therefore be read, both in connection with 
the then existing internal and external situation of the 
Society, and as a prelude to the June, 1889, Theosophist. 

‘‘Applied Theosophy,’’ its leading editorial, is an arti- 
cle of nearly ten pages. The writer asks: 


The first question that naturally arises is, 
whether the action of the Theosophical Society 


*See preceding chapter. 
244 


OLCOTT’S POLICY 245 


in every respect should be limited to its de- 
elared Objects. ... Of the three Objects two 
are distinctly separated from everything else. 
... The first Object is altogether different. 
To ‘‘form the nucleus of Universal Brother- 
hood,’’ is so far from conducing to retirement 
and concentration, is a purpose so high, so deep, 
so broad, so universally sympathetic, so distant 
of realization, that it becomes vague and con- 
fused when the attention is directed to it, and to 
most Fellows this Object is about equivalent in 
practice to the formation of a nucleus for the 
recurrence of the Golden Age, or for the re- 
establishment of the garden of Eden... 

Here and there a Fellow of the Society outside 
of India may be found who is willing to accept 
the Eastern Initiates, whether ancient or mod- 
ern, as teachers; but the majority prefer to 
think and theorize for themselves, which is, after 
all, the best way for anyone to learn who can 
think and theorize logically. 

We have, then, a Society without opinions but 
with certain ‘‘Objects,’’ certain principles, and 
certain methods, and we have as a result a tend- 
ency to certain modes of thought and certain 
theories of the Universe, to which theories the 
name of Theosophy has been given. ... The 
fact that ‘‘The Secret Doctrine’’ has been so gen- 
erally understood and so highly appreciated by 
Theosophists, shows that their own thoughts 
were not so very much behind the ideas gwen 
out in that marvellous work. 

All this, however, is only what may be called 
the intellectual or philosophical side of Theoso- 
phy; and it is the fruit of the Theosophical So- 
ciety’s influence in only one direction. . . 


The whole tendency of this argument appears clearly, 
first, to discredit the real and primary Object of the 
Society, and to make a division in its Three Objects; 


246 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


secondly, to emphasize that the teachings of the ‘‘Secret 
Doctrine’’ are neither new to the membership nor in any 
way an impartation from a higher plane of perception, 
as the ‘‘thoughts’’ of the membership ‘‘were not so very 
much behind the ideas ‘given out’ in that work’’; thirdly, 
that H.P.B.’s ‘‘theories of the Universe’’ are merely 
‘‘the frut of the Theosophical Society’s mnfluence.’’ The 
Society is not an outcome of H.P.B.’s mission and teach- 
ing; on the contrary these are a development of and 
from the Society! 

After discoursing on the implications derivable from 
these premises, Mr. Harte proceeds a step further: 


. . . Since the Theosophical Society has pro- 
fessedly, as a body, no opinions on any subject, 
it is equally a transgression of its basic princi- 
ples for it to sustain or promulgate any special 
system of philosophy, as in practice it decidedly 
does, under the name of ‘‘Theosophy”’... 


Then Mr. Harte, his ground ready, asks: 


Can any means be devised whereby the Fel- 
lows of the Society can apply their knowledge 
and their energies to the practical affairs of life? 
Practical Theosophy is an affair of the future. 
Applied Theosophy is a more modest ambition, 
and is, or ought to be, a possibility. 


Mr. Harte has his answer ready: 


If the Fellows of the Theosophical Society are 
to apply their Theosophy to the affairs of life, it 
must be through the Society, and as individual 
units of the whole,—not as isolated individuals. 
. . . Itis this mystic individuality, ‘‘the sum to- 
tal,’’ that gives strength to all societies and con- 
gregations of men, and becomes the real domi- 
nating power, to which all contribute some of 
their force, and which stands behind every unit 


OLCOTT’S POLICY 24:7 


and lends its whole strength to it. Without it a 
Fellow of the Theosophical Society would be 
as powerless as any other isolated man or woman 
in the community. With it behind him an 
F. T. S. is a power in proportion to the unity 
and singleness of purpose of the Society to which 
he belongs. 


It is from the Society that radiates the ‘‘dominating 
power’’; from the Society that the members are to draw 
their sustenance and support, not from any Teacher 
or Teaching, not from any ‘‘self-induced and self-de- 
vised exertions’’ of the individual aspirants. The model 
to follow, the example to emulate, is pictured by Mr. 
Harte: 


Who speaks when a priest of the Roman 
Catholic Church utters acommand? The united 
power of the Church of Rome. Who speaks when 
a disfrocked priest says something? <A non- 
entity. Who speaks when the Judge, the Gen- 
eral, the Statesman open their mouths? ‘‘The 
State,’’—the tremendous and often tyrannical 
personality that comes into life and action when 
the units that compose it [are] bound together, 
through organization, by a common will and a 
common purpose. 


This idea that it is only ‘‘through organization,’’ 
through making the Society the prime object of devo- 
tion, its ‘‘authority’’ through the voice of its officials 
supreme over the individual conscience and action, that 
‘‘ Applied Theosophy,’’ can be made a success is argued 
at length, leading up to the culmination of making the 
Adyar Headquarters a second Rome, and, by necessary 
inference, of the President-Founder a Theosophical 
Pope: 


The Theosophical Society is an ideal power 
for good diffused over the whole world, but it 


248 


THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


requires material conditions, and the most im- 
portant of these is a material centre, from which 
and to which the efferent and afferent forces 
shall circulate. This is a condition of the life 
of all organizations, and of all organisms, and 
the Theosophical Society is both; it is an organ- 
ization on the material plane, an organism on the 
spiritual. A common centre, therefore, is as 
necessary for spiritual as for physical reasons. 
‘¢Apyar’’ is not a place only, it is a principle. 
It is a name that ought to carry with it a power 
far greater than that conveyed by the name 
‘‘Rome.’’ Apyar is the centre of the Theosophi- 
cal Movement—not ‘‘7 Duke Street, Adelphi’’ 
[the publication office of Lucifer] or ‘‘ Post Office 
Box 2659, New York’’ [the address of The 
Path]. 

Apyak is a principle and a symbol, as well 
as a locality. Apyar is the name which means 
on the material plane the Headquarters of an 
international, or, more properly speaking, world- 
wide Society. . . . It means on the supra-physi- 
eal plane a centre of life and energy, the point 
to and from which the currents run between the 
ideal and the material. Every loyal Fellow has 
in his heart a little Apyar, for he has in him a 
spark of the spiritual fire which the name typi- 
fies. Apyar is the symbol of our unity as a So- 
ciety, and so long as it exists in the hearts of its 
Fellows, the powers of the enemy can never 
prevail against the Theosophical Society. ... 

What then, to recapitulate, must be our an- 
swer to the questions with which we started :— 
Is such a thing as ‘‘ Applied Theosophy”’ possi- 
ble? If so, of what does it consist? 

... the Fellows must perceive that the The- 
osophical Society is a living entity, ‘‘ideal’’ if 
one chooses to call it so, but an entity one and in- 
divisible alike upon the material and on the 
super-physical plane. We have also seen that 


OLCOTT'S POLICY 249 


the visible centre of the Society, Apyar, is 
symbolical of the principle of unity, as well as of 
the material life of the Society, and that in every 
sense loyalty to Apyar means loyalty to the ob- 
jects of the Society and to the principles of 
Theosophy. ... 


The same—June—number of The Theosophist con- 
tained a related article by Mr. Harte, signed ‘‘F. T. 8.’’ 
and bearing the title, ‘‘The Situation.’’ Some extracts 
follow: 


We have not yet got our proper bearings 
after the radical change in the Society made by 
an Order of the President last autumn, and 
adopted into the Constitution and Rules of the 
Theosophical Society, by the General Council in 
the Annual Convention of 1888. This change 
was the formation of an Esoteric Division of the 
Society; and this separation of the esoteric ele- 
ment from the exoteric, is not only a disen- 
tangling of two things that have different 
methods and aims, and the mixing up of which 
in the life and work of the Society has given rise 
to considerable confusion, but it is, moreover, a 
weaning of the Society from sources that have 
previously nourished it. . . . It is pretty gener- 
ally felt that if the Theosophical Society is to be 
a moral and spiritual power in the world, it must 
be in touch with the world and live in the world; 
using such methods in its dealings with that 
world as the latter can appreciate and under- 
stand, or which, at all events, will not excite its 
prejudices, and put it into a fury of opposition 
at the very first go off. 


There is here put forward the misstatement that the 
formation of the Esoteric Section was due to and de- 
pendent upon ‘‘an Order of the President’’; that the real 
object of its formation was to separate the ‘‘esoteric 


250 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


element from the exoteric’’; that the ‘‘mixing up”’ of the 
esoteric with the exoteric aspects of the Movement had 
given rise to ‘‘considerable confusion,’’ and that it was 
necessary to ‘‘wean’’ the Society ‘‘from the sources that 
have hitherto nourished it.’’? The view is presented that 
if the Society is to influence the world it must have a 
worldly incentive to offer, a worldly basis and authority 
in order to ‘‘be a moral and spiritual power in the 
world’’; that because its actual Objects, its actual basis, 
its actual methods have hitherto been wnworldly, there- 
fore it has excited the prejudices of the world, therefore 
it has put the world ‘‘into a fury of opposition.’’ What 
is needed, in this view, is not the basis and methods of 
H.P.B., which have been the disturbing factor, but the 
basis and methods of Col. Oleott, Mr. Sinnett, et al, who 
have been using and will continue to use such methods 
in dealing with the world ‘‘as the latter can appreciate 
and understand.’’ This suggestion implanted, the logi- 
cal corollary is that H.P.B.’s methods have been a 
blunder which must be corrected. What her methods 
have been and how sadly she has misrepresented the 
Masters, are next implied: 


If there is any reliance to be placed upon what 
has come to us as the wishes and instructions of 
those mysterious Personages behind the scenes, 
by whose orders the Society was founded, then 
the weaning of the Society from any further pro- 
fessed and ostensible connection with phenomena 
and invisible wire-pullers (using the term with 
the greatest respect) has been determined and 
decreed some time ago. If we are to have faith 
in anything we have been told as coming from 
the Masters, we are constrained to believe that 
it is their wish that the Theosophical Society 
shall now stand before all men for what it is 
worth in itself, and that Theosophy shall from 
henceforth be put before the world as a system 
of philosophical and ethical truth which stands 
on its own merits without any adventitious aids, 


OLCOTT’S POLICY 251 


props or abutments. This implies at the outset 
that from henceforth Occultism and Theosophy, 
which are in reality two very different things, 
shall be separate in the minds of the Fellows, 
and in the life of the Society. 


The Master’s letter to Col. Olcott? is referred to to 
show that H.P.B. should ‘‘mind her own business!”’’ 
Mr. Harte comments: 


That letter refers to the settlement of a dis- 
pute among the Fellows in France, but the prin- 
ciple so definitely stated with regard to the di- 
vision of functions . . . and the formation of an 
Ksoteric Division of the Theosophical Society 
under the exclusive management and control of 
Madame Blavatsky was the result of its wider 
application—it being understood that the Presi- 
dent was in no way to interfere with that di- 
vision, Madame Blavatsky, in return, abstaining 
in future from any direct interference with the 
worldly or exoteric management of the Society. 
. . . It may be further stated here, for the bene- 
fit of those whom it may concern, that the 
formation of the Esoteric Section, was in ac- 
cordance with the instructions received from the 
Masters. 

On both sides this new departure was felt to 
be a relief. Occultism is above all ‘‘rule’’ or 
‘*bye-law’’ emanating from the will of the gov- 
erned, which is the only possible basis of a popu- 
lar government such as that of the Theosophical 
Society. The result of trying to make two such 
different things work harmoniously was like that 
which might be expected from harnessing to- 
gether a ‘‘sacred bull’’ and a draft horse—the 
waggon was continually running into the fence, 
and always in danger of being upset; a danger 
in no way diminished by the fact that two coach- 

~See Chapter X, 


252 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


men sat on the box seat, each of whom held one 
of the reins, and pulled it vigorously every now 
and then without much reference to the ideas of 
the other, or to ‘‘things as a whole.’’ Now, hap- 
pily, there has been a division of labour, each 
driver has got his own animal to himself. 


Having thus driven home the idea that H.P.B. and 
Col. Olcott were originally on a plane of entire equality 
both with regard to the Masters and to the T.S.; that 
the ‘‘interference’’ of H.P.B. was as displeasing to 
Masters as it was to Col. Olcott, so that Masters gave 
Col. Oleott ‘‘instructions’’ to ‘‘order’’ the formation 
of an Esoteric Section to limit the capacity for harmful- 
ness of H.P.B.; that the ‘‘bargain’’ was that H.P.B. 
should be let alone in the esoteric ‘‘Division’’ and Col. 
Oleott no longer interfered with in the Society as a 
whole—having thus arrived at his explanation of facts 
and factors, Mr. Harte then pays attention to the ‘‘EKso- 
teric Division,’’ its members, and H.P.B. in these terms: 


The head of the Esoteric Division is at liberty 
to impose pledges, institute degrees, and ordain 
exercises, and without let or hindrance to issue 
instructions and orders to those who place them- 
selves under her guidance;. . 

With the affairs of the Esoteric Division this 
article has nothing to do. That division seems 
to be a kind of Annex to the Theosophical So- 
ciety proper, having two doors of exit—one lead- 
ing up to higher levels, the other leading down 
and out. Not only do advanced students seek 
entrance to it, but it appears to have especial 
attractions for many who are spiritually some- 
what crippled. The halt, the maimed and the 
blind, blissfully unaware of their infirmities, and 
oblivious of their utter want of preparation, 
knock incontinently at the door, and the Head 
of the Division cannot always refuse them a 


OLCOTT’S POLICY 253 


chance. At the first little ‘‘trial’’ these weak 
brothers lose their heads and their holds, fall 
flat on their noses, and go off howling. 

The President and General Council are free to 
legislate for the Theosophical Society to the 
best of their knowledge and ability, in con- 
formity with the wishes of the majority of the 
Fellows. ... 

It is a matter of fact ... that the Rules of 
the Theosophical Society have been all along so 
weak, confused and contradictory, that no other 
society or persons who wished to receive credit 
for common sense would probably have put up 
with them for a day. So long as the esoteric 
and exoteric elements were mixed up in the So- 
ciety this state of affairs did not matter. It was 
inevitable; ... 

The consequences of the former state of af- 
fairs is telling on the Society now. .. . No one 
suspected the want of loyalty to the Society on 
the part of a portion of the Branches and Sec- 
tions, until the attempt was made by the late 
Convention to put a little seriousness and energy 
into the Society. It looks as if certain of the 
Sections and Branches have got somewhat too 
high an opinion of their own importance. 


The only Sections which existed prior to the Conven- 
tion were the American, the British, and the Esoteric, 
whose Branches, Groups, and Members were primarily 
interested in Theosophy, not the Society, and who there- 
fore looked to Theosophy and to the example and guid- 
ance of H.P.B. and Mr. Judge, not to Col. Olcott and 
the ‘‘Rules and Bye-laws’’ of the Indian Convention’s 
facile adoption at Col. Olcott’s behests. Plain notice is 
therefore served on these recalcitrants—as they seemed 
to the President and his associates—that they have no 
authority, rights, or existence, save by virtue of Col. 
Olcott’s ‘‘orders’’ and that the Power that created 


254 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


them can as easily dissolve them; and it is intimated that 
that Power will be exercised if former conduct is not 
superseded by better behavior: 


They [the Sections and Branches] exist only 
by virtue of Charters issued by the President of 
the Theosophical Society. It is the fact of the 
possession of these Charters that makes them 
different from other little collections of students 
of Theosophy in the countries where they exist, 
and gives them what credit they enjoy. 
Suppose it became necessary to withdraw The 
Charters of certain Sections, does any one be- 
heve for a moment that the Theosophical Society 
would eventually suffer? At present a large and 
increasing proportion of the Fellows are ‘‘Fel- 
lows at large’’—that is, unattached to any 
branch; Fellows in Branches would perceive that 
their status remained unchanged; and thou- 
sands who now sympathize with the objects and 
work of the Society, but are deterred from join- 
ing it by the idea that they are expected to join a 
branch, would prick up their ears and become in- 
terested. These do not care to join the Society 
now for a variety of reasons :—because they look 
upon the branches as mutual admiration clubs; 
because they regard them as the private friends 
and followers of some one man; because they 
don’t want to be bothered in attending their 
meetings and listening to things they either 
know already or do not understand; because 
they are disgusted with the jealousies and rival- 
ries of Fellows who are prominent in branches; 
because they do not approve of the branch sys- 
tem at all, which brings the Fellows who belong 
to branches into unnecessary publicity. If every 
existing Charter of Section and branch of the 
Theosophical Society were withdrawn tomorrow, 
the Society would, in all probability, be a 
stronger body in a short time than it is now, and 


OLCOTT’S POLICY 


certainly it would not be a weaker one. Every 
active Fellow would become a natural recruit- 
ing agent, not for a little local branch as at pres- 
ent, but for the Theosophical Society. 


255 


All this leads up to the summation which is laid before 


the members, as the cure for the ‘‘Situation’’: 


The Theosophical Society would then exist 
as a homogeneous whole, composed of loyal Fel- 
lows animated by a common spirit, and Adyar 
would be what it ought to be—the centre of a 
system for the circulation of Theosophical ideas 
and literature, and for the organization of The- 
osophical activities all over the globe. And the 
Fellows would soon spontaneously form into 
groups with connections with each other and 
with Adyar, which would enable them to carry 
out the work. 

These are very obvious considerations. Still, 
there are people who do not always remember 
them, and to whom the above remarks may not 
be without utility. 


These articles in the June, 1889, Theosophist were im- 
mediately followed in the ‘‘Supplement’’ to the July 
issue by an article entitled ‘‘A Disclaimer,’’ the insinu- 
ations in which were still more direct and pronounced. 


It is, in full, as follows: 


The Editor of The Theosophist has much 
pleasure in publishing the following extracts 
from a letter from Mr. Bertram Keightley, Secre- 
tary of the ‘‘ Esoteric Section’’ of the Theosophi- 
cal Society, to one of the Commissioners, which 
have been handed to him for publication. [Mr. 
Keightley’s letter was in fact a private one to 
Mr. Harte himself, in reply to a letter from 
Mr. Harte.] It should be explained that the de- 
nial therein contained refers to certain surmises 


256 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


and reports afloat in the Society, and which were 
seemingly corroborated by apparently arbitrary 
and underhand proceedings by certain Fellows 
known to be members of the Esoteric Section. 

Mr. Keightley tells this Commissioner that 
he must not believe ‘‘that the Esoteric Section 
has any, even the slightest, pretension to ‘boss’ 
the Theosophical Society or anything of the 
kind.’’ Again he says: ‘‘We are all, H.P.B. 
first and foremost, just as loyal to the The- 
osophical Society and to Adyar as the Colonel 
can possibly be.’’? And yet again he says: ‘‘I 
have nothing more to say, except to repeat im 
the most formal and positive manner my assur- 
ance that there is not a word of truth wm the 
statement that the Esoteric Section has any de- 
sire or pretension to ‘boss’ any other part or 
Section of the T.8.’’ 

It is to be hoped that after this very distinct 
and authoritative disclaimer no further ‘‘ private 
circulars’’ will be issued by any members of the 
Hsoteric Section, calling upon the Fellows to op- 
pose the action of the General Council, because 
‘‘Madame Blavatsky does not approve of it’’; 
and also that silly editorials, declaring that The- 
osophy is degenerating into obedience to the dic- 
tates of Madame Blavatsky, like that in a recent 
issue of the Religio-Philosophical Journal, will 
cease to appear. 


The private circulars referred to are the First Pre- 
liminary Memorandum * to applicants to the E.S., issued 
by H.P.B., and the Report of Mr. Judge as General 
Secretary to the American Convention, from both of 
which documents we have already given the germane 
extracts. The ‘‘silly editorial’? was an article by Col. 


*See Chapter XI. The Preliminary Memorandum of the Esoteric 
Section was issued by H.P.B. late in 1888. Its strictures on the failure 
of the T.S. were the undoubted occasion of Mr. Harte’s series of articles 
in The Theosophist. 


OLCOTT’S POLICY 257 


Bundy in his paper, the Religio-Philosophical Journal, 
in support of the Coues-Collins attack. 

To appreciate fully the force and bearing of the vari- 
ous citations given, the student should remember that 
The Theosophist was the official organ of the Society; 
The Path and Lucifer being Theosophical, not organiza- 
tional, publications; further, that The Theosophist was 
the only one of the three with any circulation in India, 
and was, in addition, sent officially to every Branch 
throughout the world and had a wide circulation among 
the Fellows in England, France, and the United States. 
For a large portion of the membership it was the only 
means of information concerning the Society, and, in 
India, the only channel both for Theosophy and the 
Society. Indian members, therefore, were entirely de- 
pendent on it for the accuracy, completeness, and au- 
thenticity of its statements. 

Immediately following the Convention of 1888, Col. 
Olcott had departed on a tour in Japan from which he 
did not return until the latter half of 1889. During his 
absence Mr. Harte was in entire charge of The Theoso- 
plist, and was one of the three ‘‘Commissioners’’ to 
whom he had delegated his powers as President; the 
other two being Hindu members of his ‘‘General Coun- 
eil.’’ It cannot be doubted, both that Mr. Harte was 
following out a prearranged program in the matter 
quoted from, and that he was in constant communication 
with Col. Olcott during the latter’s absence on his Japa- 
nese Buddhist mission. That his course was fully ap- 
proved by Col. Olcott is shown by the immediate sequel, 
as follows: 

As soon as the proofs of the two articles quoted from 
reached America Mr. Judge prepared a long communica- 
tion taking issue with the facts, the implications, the 
spirit, and the tendencies thus expressed with every ap- 
pearance of authority and Presidential sanction in the 
official organ of the Society. This—and the fact should 
be noted as an example of the method used by both Mr. 
Judge and H.P.B. in dealing with Col. Olcott’s periodi- 
cal outbreaks of ‘‘pledge fever’’—was sent privately by 


258 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


Mr. Judge direct to Col. Olcott with request for its in- 
sertion in The Theosophist, on the assumed ground that 
the articles complained of were written without Col. 
Olcott’s knowledge and that he, no less than Mr. Judge, 
would hasten to correct the misstatements and false 
suggestions conveyed by the articles in question. 

In the September, 1889, Theosophist, Col. Olcott pub- 
lished as the leading editorial and over his own signa- 
ture an article entitled ‘‘Centres of The Theosophical 
Movement.’’ He refused to print Mr. Judge’s article 
in full, declaring that it— 


Contains passages of a far too personal char- 
acter for me to admit them. . . . Lhave taken no 
part, nor shall I, in the various unseemly quar- 
rels, public and private, which the friction of 
‘‘strong personalities’? among us has and prob- 
ably always will engender. They are mostly un- 
important, involving no great principles or vital 
issue, and therefore beneath the interest of those 
who have the high purposes and aims of the So- 
ciety at heart. 


He calls Mr. Judge’s criticisms ‘‘mayavic delusion.’’ 
He then quotes Mr. Judge that the ‘‘Centre’’ is wherever 
H.P.B. may be; that it was originally in New York, 
then in Bombay, then ‘‘a short time at Adyar’’ (while 
she was there)— 


. . . for where she is burns the flame that 
draws its force from the plane of ideas! The 
mere location of the President in Adyar, and the 
existence of a library there, do not make that 
spot our Rome.’’... What would become of 
this new Rome—Adyar—if an order were re- 
ceived for Col. Olcott and H. P. Blavatsky to be- 
take themselves to America once more and there 
set up the Theosophical Society Headquarters? 
Such a thing might happen. It happened before, 
and the channel for the order was H. P. Bla- 
vatsky. Does any one suppose that either Col. 


OLCOTT’S POLICY 259 


Oleott or H. P. Blavatsky would be obstructed in 
their actions by the ‘‘ Revised Rules?’’ 


This query rouses Col. Olcott over what he calls his 
‘‘irascible colleague’s questions and conundrums.’’ He 
proceeds to argue at length from the record of the vari- 
ous minutes and changes of by-laws and rules that the 
President-Founder is the real fountain of authority in 
the Society and the real ‘‘Rome”’ is wherever the Presi- 
dent-Founder may be domiciled. He does not claim 
‘spiritual authority,’’ he says, but he does claim he 
has been ‘‘granted absolute and unlimited discretion as 
to the practical management of our affairs.’’ He has 
never interfered with H.P.B.: 


. who taught and introduced me to my 
Initiators, but it was I who gave officially to her 
last year a charter to form her Esoteric Section. 
Between her and myself there was never any dis- 
pute upon these points, she sustaining my exo- 
teric authority as loyally as I have ever recog- 
nized her superior connection with the ‘‘Found- 
ers.’’ .. . Col. Olcott did not move the Head- 
quarters to India by any one’s order: his ‘‘or- 
ders’’ came from the depths of his own heart. 
.. . If in the course of the Society’s develop- 
ment the transfer of Headquarters should ever 
be advisable—which neither I nor Mr. Judge can 
now forecast—doubtless I shall receive direct no- 
tice with ample time to make all the necessary 
arrangements in a businesslike and constitu- 
tional manner. 

. . . But when it is a question of papal infalli- 
bilities and Romes, it is just as well to say it was 
I who proposed the formation of the Society, 
who had all the early burden of guiding its in- 
fant steps, and who, after the collapse of the 
original legislative scheme of Rules and Bye- 
Laws, had—as above remarked—all the execu- 
tive responsibility. ... 


260 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


What the heart is to the body the Headquar- 
ters is to the Society, the working centre of its 
vital action. Its existence is what makes The- 
osophy a ‘‘going concern.’’... While the 
French and Germans mutually resent interfer- 
ence by each other in their official concerns and 
both would rebel against interference with them 
by the British or American Sections and vice 
versa, all unhesitatingly submit their unsettled 
disputes to the Executive for decision. And 
again, when there was trouble between personal 
factions in English Branches and between the 
American Theosophical leaders, it was to me and 
to no one else that the disputants looked for 
equitable composition of their troubles. These 
are facts beyond dispute, facts going to prove 
the indispensability of a general centre which 
shall be the official residence of the central arbi- 
trator and judge, officially placed above the 
plane of partisanship and of local interests and 
influences. 


These numerous and lengthy extracts will, we believe, 
serve fairly and fully to place before the reader the 
views entertained by Col. Oleott and actuating his con- 
duct, his estimate of his own importance, and his atti- 
tude towards his colleagues and their status in the So- 
ciety and in the Movement. Mr. Judge’s views may be 
readily inferred from what has been given. It remains 
to compare and contrast all with the definite statement 
of H.P.B. in the Prelimimary Memorandum already 
quoted from,* and with her equally definite public ex- 
pression of her own views and attitude as drawn forth 
and compelled by the several articles mentioned. In 
Lucifer for August, 1889, under the caption, ‘‘A Puzzle 
from Adyar,’’ H.P.B., like Mr. Judge, assumes that The 
Theosophist articles have been written without the con- 
currence of Col. Oleott and without intention to aid and 
abet the enemy. ‘‘Now what,’’ she asks,— 

*See Chapter XI, 


OLCOTT’S POLICY 261 


may be the meaning of this extraordinary and 
most tactless ‘‘sortie’’ of the esteemed acting 
editor of our Theosophist? Is he... like our 
(and his) editor-enemies across the Atlantic, 
also dreaming uncanny dreams and seeing lying 
visions—or what? And let me remind him at 
once that he must not feel offended by these re- 
marks, as he has imperatively called them forth 
himself. Lucifer, the Path and the Theosophist 
are the only organs of communication with the 
Fellows of our Society, each in its respective 
country. Since the acting editor of the Theoso- 
phist has chosen to give a wide publicity in his 
organ to abnormal fancies, he has no right to ex- 
pect a reply through any other channel than 
Lucifer. Moreover, if he fails to understand all 
the seriousness of his implied charges against 
me and several honorable men, he may realise 
them better, when he reads the present. 

. what does he try to insinuate by the 
following... 


She then reprints the ‘‘Disclaimer’’ from the ‘‘Sup- 
plement’’ to the July Theosophst, and analyzes the sev- 
eral insinuations in regard to members of the E.S., who, 
she says, ‘‘stand accused by Mr. Harte... of ‘arbi- 
trary and underhand proceedings.’ ’’ She asks, ‘‘Is not 
such a sentence a gross insult thrown into the face of 
honorable men—far better Theosophists than any of 
their accusers—and of myself?’’ Of the plain intimation 
that the American or British Sections or the Blavatsky 
Lodge or the E.S. wanted to ‘‘boss Adyar,’’ she says: 


That the E.S. had never any pretensions 
to ‘‘boss’’ the T.S., stands to reason: with the 
exception of Col. Olcott, the President, the 
Esoteric Section has nothing whatever to do 
with the Theosophical Society, its Council or 
officers. It is a Section entirely apart from 
the exoteric body and independent of it, H.P. 


262 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


B. alone being responsible for its members, as 
shown in the official announcement over the 
signature of the President-Founder himself. 
It follows, therefore, that the E.S., as a body 
owes no allegiance whatever to the Theosophi- 
cal Society, as a Society, least of all to 
Adyar. 


Next she takes up another statement in the ‘‘ Disclaimer. ”’ 


It is pure nonsense to say that ‘‘H.P.B.... 
is loyal to the Theosophical Society and to 
Adyar’’ (?). H.P.B. zs loyal to death to the 
Theosophical Causz, and those great Teachers 
whose philosophy alone can bind the whole of 
Humanity mto one Brotherhood. Together with 
Col. Olcott, she is the chief Founder and Builder 
of the Society which was and is meant to repre- 
sent that CausE; and if she is so loyal to H. S. 
Olcott, it is not at all because of his being its 
‘‘President,’’ but, firstly, because there is no 
man living who has worked harder for that So- 
ciety, or been more devoted to it than the Colonel, 
and, secondly, because she regards him as a loyal 
friend and co-worker. Therefore the degree of 
her sympathies with the ‘‘Theosophical Society 
and Adyar’’ depends upon the degree of the 
loyalty of that Society to the Causr. Let it 
break away from the original lines and show dis- 
loyalty in its policy to the Causs and the original 
programme of the Society, and H.P.B. calling 
the T. 8S. disloyal, will shake it off like dust from 
her feet. 

And what does ‘‘loyalty to Adyar’’ mean, in 
the name of all wonders? What is Adyar apart 
from that Causs and the two (not one Founder, 
if you please) who represent it? Adyar is the 
present Headquarters of the Society, because 
these ‘‘Headquarters are wherever the Presi- 
dent is,’’ as stated in the rules. To be logical the 


OLCOTT’S POLICY 263 


Fellows of the T.S. had to be loyal to Japan 
while Col. Oleott was there, and to London dur- 
ing his presence here. 


She then makes the memorable declaration of the actual 
existing status of affairs: 


There is no longer a ‘‘Parent Society’’; it is 
abolished and replaced by an aggregate body of 
Theosophical Societies, all autonomous, as are 
the States of America, and all under one head 
President, who, together with H. P. Blavatsky, 
will champion the CausE against the whole 
world. Such is the real state of things. 


The theory of government of the Society held, prac- 
ticed and preached by Col. Olcott and his pliant sup- 
porters is next covered by her declaration made in that 
regard also: 


Whenever ‘‘Madame Blavatsky does not ap- 
prove’’ of ‘‘an action of the General Council’’ 
(or ‘‘Commissioners,’’ of whom Mr. R. Harte 
is one), she will say so openly and to their faces. 
Because (a) Madame Blavatsky does not owe 
the slightest allegiance to a Council which is 
liable at any moment to issue silly and wnthe- 
osophical ukases; and (b) for the simple reason 
that she recognizes but one person in the T. S. 
beside herself, namely Colonel Olcott, as having 
the right of effecting fundamental re-organiza- 
tions in a Society which owes its life to them, 
and for which they are both karmically respon- 
sible. If the acting editor makes slight account 
of a sacred pledge, neither Col. Olcott nor H. 
P. Blavatsky are likely to do so. H. P. Blavatsky 
will always bow before the decision of the ma- 
jority of a Section or even a simple Branch; 
but she will ever protest against the decision of 
the General Council, were it composed of Arch- 
angels and Dhyan Chohans themselves, if their 


264 


Here, as always, where the weaknesses, the foibles, and 
the derelictions of her associates and students are in- 
volved, H.P.B. writes only under the gravest compul- 
sion, with the extreme of reluctance, and in such terms 
as to hold wide the door of return to nght action with 
the least possible humiliation to the pride and vanity of 
She sums up, and conveys at the same 
time her appeal to the best in her colleagues, in these 


human nature. 


THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


decision seems to her unjust, or untheosophical, 
or fails to meet with the approval of the ma- 
jority of the Fellows. No more than H. P. 
Blavatsky has the President-Founder the right 
of exercising autocracy or papal powers, and 
Col. Oleott would be the last man in the world 
to attempt to do so. It is the two Founders and 
especially the President, who have virtually 
sworn allegiance to the Fellows, whom they have 
to protect, and teach those who want to be 
taught, and not to tyrannize and rule over them. 


terms: 


And now I have said over my own signature 
what I had to say and that which ought to have 
been said in so many plain words long ago. The 
public is all agog with the silliest stories about 
our doings, and the supposed and real dissen- 
sions in the Society. Let every one know the 
truth at last, in which there is nothing to make 
any one ashamed and which alone can put an end 
to a most painful and strained feeling. This 
truth is as simple as can be. 

The acting editor of the Theosophist has 
taken it into his head that the Esoteric Sec- 
tion together with the British and American 
Sections, were either conspiring or preparing to 
conspire against what he most curiously calls 
‘‘Adyar’’ and its authority. Now being a most 
devoted Fellow of the T.S. and attached to the 
President, his zeal in hunting up this mare’s 


OLCOTT’S POLICY 265 


nest has led him to become more Catholic than 
the Pope. That is all, and I hope that such mis- 
understandings and hallucinations will come to 
an end with the return of the President to 
India. Had he been at home, he, at any rate, 
would have objected to all those dark hints and 
cloaked sayings that have of late incessantly 
appeared in the Theosophist to the great delight 
of our enemies. ... 

But it is time for me to close. If Mr. Harte 
persists still in acting in such a strange and un- 
theosophical way, then the sooner the President 
settles these matters the better for all con- 
cerned. 

Owing’ to such undignified quibbles, Adyar and 
especially the Theosophist are fast becoming 
the laughing stock of Theosophists themselves 
as well as of their enemies. 


And, lest her unfailing clemency should again be mis- 
construed and abused to their own injury and that of 
the Cause to which they, no less than herself, are pledged, 
she concludes with this note of mingled appeal and warn- 
ing to those at fault: 


I end by assuring him [Mr. Harte] that there 
is no need for him to pose as Colonel Olcott’s 
protecting angel. Neither he nor I need a third 
party to screen us from each other. We have 
worked and toiled and suffered together for fif- 
teen long years, and if after all these years of 
mutual friendship the President-Founder were 
capable of lending ear to insane accusations and 
turning against me, well—the world is wide 
enough for us both. Let the new Exoteric The- 
osophical Society headed by Mr. Harte, play at 
red tape if the President lets them and let the 
General Council expel me for ‘‘disloyalty,’’ if, 
again, Colonel Olcott should be so blind as to 
fail to see where the ‘‘true friend’’ and his duty 


266 


THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


lie. Only unless they hasten to do so, at the 
first sign of their disloyalty to the Causz—it 
is I who will have resigned my office of Cor- 
responding Secretary for life and left the So- 
ciety. This will not prevent me from remain- 
ing at the head of those who will follow me. 

H. P. Buavatsky. 


CHAPTER XVII 
H.P.B. TAKES CHARGE OF THE T.S. IN EUROPE 


Ir would serve no useful purpose to set out in detail 
the internecine troubles of the Theosophical Society dur- 
ing the three years which followed. Our aim has been 
to present only so much of the sequence of events during 
that melancholy period of stress and strain as might 
make clear the two horns of the dilemma unavoidably 
produced by the clash between human nature and the 
purposes of the Theosophical Movement. That is to say: 
(1) to indicate clearly the failure of the Society and its 
responsible officials and leaders to live up to its and their 
professed Objects; (2) the corresponding necessity under 
which H. P. Blavatsky and W. Q. Judge labored— 
either to stand by and permit the Society to become a 
worldly success but an Occult failure, or to restore the 
Movement by the formation of the Esoteric Section within 
the shell of the Society. 

The Society tended continually to follow those lines 
which were attractive to the members and the inquiring 
public—that is, to run into channels of mere study of 
comparative religion and philosophy or to experiments 
and investigations in psychical research. The inflexible 
devotion to the assimilation of the philosophy of The- 
osophy, the rigid self-discipline required for the applica- 
tion of Theosophy to their own daily conduct in all the 
affairs of life—these essential conditions precedent to 
any realization of the great First Object, possessed no 
charms for any but the very few. Theoretical brother- 
hood was one thing; the practical application and ex- 
emplification of the principles professedly held was quite 
another thing, then as now. 

On the other hand, one has but to read any one of the 
statements emanating from the Masters of Wisdom from 

267 


268 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


1877-96, to recognize the great gulf between Their view 
of life and action and that prevailing in the world and in 
the Society. Philosophy and ethics, ethics and philosophy 
—through the study and application of these alone could 
the Society and its members hope to benefit the world 
and themselves. Little by little the opposed fundamental 
ideas and applications produced those frictions and frac- 
tures which at last led to the opening up of broad lines 
of cleavage. And since actions do not perform them- 
selves, it was inevitable that these fundamental differ- 
ences should at last become personified in the leading 
persons and personages whose relations embody the his- 
tory of the Theosophical Movement. 

After the receipt of the advance proofs of Lucifer for 
August 15, 1889, containing ‘‘A Puzzle from Adyar,”’ 
Col. Oleott recognized that the various issues evoked by 
the Convention proceedings of December preceding and 
the subsequent promulgations in The Theosophist, had 
been squarely met by H.P.B. and Mr. Judge. Hither he 
would have to proceed in open defiance of them and of 
their policies, execute a complete ‘‘about face,’’ and 
bring himself once more into line with the principles and 
procedure they had proclaimed, or take a compromise 
course. He chose, as usual, the middle course: he de- 
termined to go to England and ‘‘fight it out’’ once more 
with H.P.B., rather than raise the standard of rebellion 
and thus perforce align himself with Prof. Coues, whose 
assault threatened not only the ruin of the prestige of 
H.P.B., but the destruction of the Society as well. He 
therefore hastened to insert in the ‘‘Supplement”’ to The 
Theosophist for August a formal notice addressed ‘‘To 
the Indian Section,’’ in which he announced his depar- 
ture for the United Kingdom in these words: 


A promise made last year obliges me to pro- 
ceed without delay to England for a Society 
lecturing tour through parts of the United 
Kingdom. 


He arrived in England when the public press, no less 
than the Theosophical ranks, was agog over the charges 


THE T.S. IN EUROPE 269 


and counter-charges incident to the Coues-Collins ex- 
plosion. He found H.P.B. undaunted, undismayed, un- 
disturbed. Although she lay upon that rack of physical 
as well as moral pain that was all too soon to destroy 
her body, never had the lion’s heart and the lion’s cour- 
age that inspired her been more true. She received 
him with that loyalty and forgetfulness of all but the 
good in him that had so many times before restored his 
concert pitch of faith and feeling. Accord was soon 
reached. He was received by all the English The- 
osophists with that consideration so dear to his nature. 
His fears that his importance to the work of the So- 
ciety and the Movement would be ignored or minimized, 
evaporated for the time being, and this was facilitated 
by his discovery that H.P.B. was surrounded by eager 
and ardent students whose worldly standing and repute 
far more than compensated for any possible losses due 
to the defection of Dr. Coues and Miss Collins. To men- 
tion only two of the recent recruits, he met Mr. Herbert 
Burrows, the well-known Socialist in England, man of 
education and character so great as to command the 
respect even of those whose class interests were en- 
dangered by him, now devoted to Theosophy and to 
H.P.B. He met Mrs. Annie Besant, champion of the 
oppressed, fearless follower of her convictions, lead her 
where they might, now aflame with the glory of a fresh 
enthusiasm, already the right hand of H.P.B. Under 
such auspices as these, Col. Olcott departed on his lec- 
turing tour and everywhere found new evidences of a 
rising tide. On his return to London in December he 
readily acceded to the expressed wish of the Council of 
the British Section and issued an ‘‘Order’’ naming 
H.P.B., with an advisory Committee of three, to exercise 
his ‘‘ Presidential powers’’ in the United Kingdom. Still 
further to strengthen him against reactionary tendencies 
on his return to India, H.P.B. put into his hands before 
his departure a document appointing him her sole repre- 
sentative for the Esoteric Section in Asiatic countries. 

During Col. Oleott’s absence no Convention had been 
held at Adyar, but a Bombay Conference was arranged 


270 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


which met at the usual time, adopted stirring resolutions 
of confidence in H.P.B., and voiced its condemnation of 
attacks made upon her and its disapproval of the dis- 
sentient frictions with the Society. Thus for a time— 
a brief time, as always—there was concord and some 
semblance of fraternity throughout the whole vast area 
of the Society. | 

But early in the summer of 1890 the Paris Branch 
once again became the focal point of disturbance which 
threatened the disruption of the Society. While H.P.B. 
was doing her utmost to reconcile the warring factions 
Col. Oleott again intervened and almost an identical 
situation to that in the fall of 1888 again arose. The 
various Kuropean Lodges, the English Branches, and the 
numerous ‘‘unattached’’ Fellows in Britain and on the 
Continent rose in arms and bombarded H.P.B. with let- 
ters, resolutions and petitions to clear the situation once 
and for all from any further ‘‘ Executive Orders’’ from 
Adyar. 

Thus confronted, H.P.B. once more acted with char- 
acteristic decision, frankness, and loyalty. A brief de- 
lineation can but outline in relief the sagacity and the 
kindness with which she performed the seemingly im- 
possible task thrust upon her. 

On July 2, 1890, the Council of the British Section held 
an extraordinary session with Mrs. Besant in the chair. 
Letters and resolutions from the various Lodges and 
unattached Fellows were read, and after full discussion 
‘it was proposed by Dr. [Archibald] Keightley that a 
requisition, embodying the following views, be drawn up 
and addressed to the President of the Society’’: 


The Continental Lodges and unattached mem- 
bers having made an appeal to H.P.B. that they 
may place themselves directly under her author- 
ity, the British Section joins in their demand 
that the constitutional powers at present exer- 
cised by Colonel H. S. Olcott in Europe, shall 
be transferred to H.P.B. and her Advisory 


THE T.S. IN EUROPE 271 


Council, already appointed to exercise part of 
such function in the United Kingdom. 


H.P.B. cabled Col. Oleott of the action taken by the 
Council, of her own proposed steps in consequence, and, 
for his own sake no less than that of the Society, urged 
him to issue such formal notice as would accept the status 
quo and preserve the appearance of harmony. The ‘‘Sup- 
plement’’ of The Theosophist for August, 1890, contains 
two eminently characteristic documents, both signed ‘‘H. 
S. Olcott, P.T.S.’’? The first of these reads in part as 
follows: 


To secure a better management of the So- 
ciety’s affairs throughout Europe, than I can 
give from this distance, I do hereby depute to 
my co-Founder, H. P. Blavatsky, full authority 
to come to an agreement with the Branches of 
the United Kingdom, Greece, France, Austria, 
and Holland, and the non-official groups in 
Spain, Russia, and other Continental countries, 
for the consolidation of the whole into one Sec- 
tion, to be designated as the European Section 
of the Theosophical Society; and to take the gen- 
eral supervision over and have as full manage- 
ment of the same as I could myself. 


This was dated ‘‘Adyar, 9th July, 1890,’’ seven days 
after the meeting of the Council of the British Sectioa, 
and the heading, ‘‘ Headquarters Official Orders,’’ has a 
delightfully Pickwickian tone in thus ‘‘ordering’’ what 
was already a fart accomplt. This order was, of course, 
written when Col. Olcott had only brief telegraphic ad- 
vices. So soon as the mails reached India with full details 
of the transactions of the Council of the British Section, 
including the resolution above given, the Colonel felt 
himself compelled to sustain the Presidential dignity by 
a second Pickwickian ‘‘Headquarters Official Order,’’ 
dated July 29th, and reprinted in the ‘‘Supplement”’ im- 
mediately following the first. It runs: 


272 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


The ... resolution of the Council of the 
British Section of July 2, 1890, is hereby can- 
celled, as contrary to the constitution and by- 
laws of the Theosophical Society, a usurpation 
of the Presidential prerogative, and beyond the 
competence of any Section or other fragment of 
the Society to enact. 


Lucifer for August, 1890, contains the notice sent out 
bystliteoee 


Tue THEOSOPHICAL SOCIETY IN HuUROPE 


In consequence of the receipt of letters from 
all the active Lodges in Kurope, and from a 
large majority of the Unattached Fellows of the 
Theosophical Society, H. P. Blavatsky is re- 
luctantly compelled to abandon the position 
which she originally took up at the foundation 
of the Society. 


NotTIcE 


IN OBEDIENCE TO THE ALMOST UNANIMOUS VOICE 
OF THE FELLOWS OF THE THEOSOPHICAL SOCIETY IN 
EUROPE, I, H. P. BLAVATSKY, THE ORIGINATOR AND 
CO-FOUNDER OF THE THEOSOPHICAL SOCIETY, ACCEPT 
THE DUTY OF EXERCISING THE PRESIDENTIAL AU- 
THORITY FOR THE WHOLE OF EUROPE; AND IN VIK- 
TUE OF THIS AUTHORITY I DECLARE THAT THE HEAD- 
QUARTERS OF THE THEOSOPHICAL SOCIETY IN 
LONDON, WHERE I RESIDE, WILL IN FUTURE BE THE 
HEADQUARTERS FOR THE TRANSACTION OF ALL OF- 
FICIAL BUSINESS OF THE THEOSOPHICAL SOCIETY IN 
EUROPE. 

H. P. BLAVATSKY. 


Let no one imagine that this reform in any 
sense suggests a separation from, or even the 
loosening in any way of the authority of, my 
colleague at Adyar. Colonel H. 8. Oleott re- 
mains, as heretofore, the President-Founder of 


THE T.S. IN EUROPE 


the Theosophical Society the world over. But 
it has been found impossible for him at such a 
great distance to exercise accurate discrimina- 
tion in current matters of guidance of the The- 
osophical Society. His functions including the 
official issue of Charters and Diplomas in 
Europe, errors in the selection of members to 
whom such Charters and Diplomas are issued 
(besides the minor evil of delay) have rendered 
it impossible that the system of government of 
the Theosophical Society in Europe should be 
continued as heretofore. In the issue of Lucifer 
for August, 1889, I made use of the following 
sentences: 


H. P. Blavatsky will always bow before the 


decision of the majority of a Section or even 
a simple Branch. ...No more... has the 
President-Founder the right of exercising 
autocracy or papal powers, and Colonel Ol- 
cott would be the last man in the world to at- 
tempt to do so. It ws the two Founders, and 
especially the President, who have virtually 
sworn allegiance to the Fellows, whom they 
have to protect ... and not to tyrannize and 
rule over them. 

Therefore, owing to the issue of a Charter in 
ignorance of the actual facts, and the immediate 
protest made by all the active members of the 
Lodges, and their unanimous desire that I should 
exercise the Presidential authority over the The- 
osophical Society in Europe, bowing to the de- 
cision of the majority I have issued the above 
official ‘‘Noticz.’’ To avoid even the appear- 
ance of autocracy I select as an advisory Coun- 
cil to assist me in the exercise of these functions, 
in addition to my three colleagues appointed by 
the President, viz.: Annie Besant, and Messrs. 
W. Kingsland and Herbert Burrows, Mr. A. P. 
Sinnett, President of the London Lodge who has 
cordially joined in this reform, Dr. H. A. W. 


273 


274 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


Coryn, President of the Brixton Lodge, The- 
osophical Society, Mr. HE. T. Sturdy, and Mr. 
G. R. S. Mead. 

H. P. Buavatsky. 


Thereafter peace and peaceful activities attended the 
work of the Theosophical Society in the West till after 
the death of H.P.B. The reader who may have been 
misled as to the facts attendant upon the events just re- 
cited, because of the sorry account in the pages of ‘‘Old 
Diary Leaves,’’ Fourth Series, should remember that the 
Col. Olcott there writing was a broken old man, that he 
was telling his tale ten years after the events discussed 
and after the fatal follies of 1894-6, and felt under the 
overwhelming compulsion to put himself in the best ight 
possible before posterity. His case is not unlike that 
of de Lesseps, the glory of whose achievement at Suez 
was, to so many minds, put in total eclipse by the folly, 
the fraud and the failure at Panama. Only those who, 
like H.P.B., know human nature and the Karma of the 
individual through and through—only such have the wis- 
dom neither to ignore the good services, nor to be dis- 
turbed by the mistakes or frailties of their associates 
and helpers—only such have the right to throw the first 
stone at ‘‘poor old Olcott’’—and they have none to throw! 


CHAPTER XVIIT 
DEATH OF H.P.B.—HER LAST MESSAGES 


H. P. Buavatsxy died May 8, 1891, in the sixtieth year 
of her age. The generation which knew her personally 
is no more, but the fierce controversies which raged 
around her living still survive, and not a year passes but 
her name and nature become the target for renewed dis- 
cussion. It is not overstating the fact to say that of 
no character in history is both so much and so little 
known. We say ‘‘known,’’ but the fact is that today, 
as when she moved among men, she is as much as ever 
a confronting mystery. 

During sixteen years she lived on three continents 
amid the most alien surroundings, in the light of the most 
watchful as well as the most hostile publicity. For those 
who called themselves her friends and followers were not 
less critical and observant of her every mood, her every 
word and action, than those who saw in her a charlatan, 
an emissary of immorality and irreligion. Not one who 
sought to gain access to her was ever denied the oppor- 
tunity to question and cross-examine her. Her doors 
were open to friends and foes alike. Yet today as while 
she lived she remains an enigma, not because of the mys- 
tery with which she cloaked herself, but because she pre- 
sents to the mind of the race an unsolved problem—an 
insoluble problem from any but one approach: that of 
the Wisdom-Religion which she inculeated and exempli- 
fied. She was herself the very testimony and witness of 
that which she taught, but none thought to solve the 
riddle of the Sphinx of the nineteenth century by an ap- 
plication to her of the philosophy she brought. 

In closing the Introductory to the ‘‘Secret Doctrine’’ 
Madame Blavatsky writes that she has constantly to bear 
in mind that ‘‘every reader will inevitably judge the 

275 


276 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


statements made from the standpoint of his own knowl- 
edge, experience, and consciousness, based on what he 
has already learnt’’ of life, its phenomena and signifi- 
cance. None that we know of have ever taken home the 
universal applications of this truism. Those who ap- 
proached H.P.B. did so, each with his own pre-concep- 
tions. Hach was willing to admit the shortcomings of 
his own knowledge, experience, and consciousness; each 
was desirous of adding to his knowledge; each was 
‘‘willing to learn’? what he could from H.P.B., but 
when the opportunity and the test came, who studied 
himself in the light of H.P.B.’s knowledge, experience, 
and consciousness? Yet if she was, perchance, a Being 
of another order from mankind, some Buddha in dis- 
guise, how could she be truly availed of by any aspirant 
for Wisdom, unless by a reversal of our accustomed mode 
of inquiry? It is one thing to study the great doctrine, 
say, of Karma and Reincarnation, from the standpoint 
of our own present personal predilections and antipathies, 
and quite another thing to study our own present selves 
and natures in the light of these twin truths. Yet, if 
Karma and Reincarnation be, perchance, the very key 
to the riddle of existence with all its included contra- 
dictions, what other mode can possibly bring that en- 
lhghtenment and illumination which all seek and which 
confessedly neither human religion nor human science, 
any more than our own knowledge, experience, and con- 
sciousness have been able to give us? 

And again, in the Preface to the ‘‘Secret Doctrine’’ 
she says that ‘‘the publication of many of the facts herein 
stated has been rendered necessary by the wild and fanci- 
ful speculations in which many Theosophists and stu- 
dents of Mysticism have indulged, during the last few 
years, in their endeavour to, as they imagined, work out 
a complete system of thought from the few facts previ- 
ously communicated to them.’’ Although she specifically 
states that the ‘‘Secret Doctrine’’ is written for the in- 
struction of students of Occultism, how many of those who 
call themselves‘‘Occultists’’ have ever really studied her 
life or her writings, let alone derived any applications 


DEATH OF H.P.B. 277 


from them? On the contrary, the multitude of books and 
other writings emanating from self-styled ‘‘initiates,’’ 
‘‘outer heads,’’ and ‘‘teachers’’ who pose as ‘‘succes- 
sors’’ and ‘‘revealers,’’ do they not one and all merely 
betray themselves as those very ‘‘wild and fanciful specu- 
lations’? of which H.P.B. wrote warningly? If her own 
students and professed followers and disciples have made 
such sorry use, and betray such sorry understanding, of 
the very genius, principles, and practices of the phi- 
losophy she taught, how could they or can they but 
grossly and grievously err in their understanding of 
H.P.B. herself—the living embodiment of what she 
taught? 

And, finally, in closing the Preface, she used this 
ancient maxim of jurisprudence: 

“De mimiumis non curat lex’’—The Law takes no ac- 
count of trifles. Her followers and disciples have taken 
account of little else! The Society engrossed them—not 
its Objects. Comparative religion and philosophy en- 
grossed them—not the attempt to detect the vital prin- 
ciples which underlie them all. Phenomena engrossed 
them—not the effort to investigate the unexplained laws 
of their occurrence. ‘‘Progress’’ engrossed them—not 
Brotherhood. ‘‘Doctrines’’ engrossed them—not the 
universal applications of Theosophy. Speculations en- 
grossed them—not the serious study of what was given 
them for their guidance and instruction. If this is true 
as regards the Society she founded and the message she 
delivered, how could it be other than true in the case of 
the attitude of the students toward herself? Scarce one 
but put on record his experiences and opinions in rela- 
tion to H.P.B. Trifles—trifles—what she ate and what 
she wore. How she looked and how she ‘‘behaved.’’ 
How she stood and how she sat. What this one thought 
and what that one had to say of her: Speculations, fan- 
cies, inferences, world without end. All trifles, trifles, 
illuminant only of the narrow radius of the ‘‘knowledge, 
experience, and consciousness’’ of the beholders of this 
greatest phenomenon of the centuries. 

Every lawyer knows that the best evidence of anything 


278 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


is the thing itself; the best evidence in regard to anyone 
the acts and words of that one himself. Too many con- 
cern themselves with reputation—too few with character. 
Those who are ardent to learn the truth in regard to 
anyone or anything must soon come to distinguish be- 
tween reputation and character. The one depends upon 
hearsay and opinion, upon the thousand forces influenc- 
ing the testimony and inferences of the witnesses; the 
other depends upon nothing and no one but the subject 
himself. And particularly is this watchfulness necessary 
in the study of anyone who has made or sought to make 
his mark upon the times. The opportunism of immediate 
self-interest colors us all far more than any of us re- 
alize. History is for the most part a record of reversals 
of judgment. Who of those that shine with ever-increas- 
ing luster through the night of time ever enjoyed in his 
lifetime, or for generations after, that reputation which 
his character justified? 

And the same state of facts applies in its integrity to 
what one might at first glance conceive to be the imper- 
sonal world of ideas. For, with newer weapons and 
changed alignments the war of ideas is still the same 
today as in all the past. Men still wrestle and war over 
opposing ideas as to God, as to Nature, as to Man. The 
problems of Good and Evil, of Justice and Injustice, of 
Life and Death, are as far off from solution, as ap- 
parently insoluble, as ever. If men cannot yet come 
to a stable conclusion in regard to the very fundamentals 
of existence and action, how fatuous he who looks for 
uniformity or unanimity in their applications. Neither 
human science, human religion, nor human philosophy 
offers, or ever has offered, any but fallible and tentative, 
but mutable and partial, explanations or applications con- 
cerning those things which are the wniversal experience 
of mankind. Yet each presumes today, as always, to sit 
in the judgment seat, and pronounce anathema or ap- 
proval in the light of its own ‘‘knowledge, experience, 
- and consciousness’’ on those very subjects on which each 
will abstractly admit its own utter incompetency! Could 
logical absurdity go farther? 


DEATH OF H.P.B. 279 


H.P.B. showed the unbroken prevalence in time and 
space of a knowledge that includes all life and action, 
and demonstrated to a Q. E. D. that such knowledge and 
its Adept-custodians exist today as always; that They 
are the Source from which has sprung everything that 
the world has that is permanent in every field of human 
inquiry. What makes men incompetent to weigh that 
testimony, to proceed to its verification by actual ex- 
perience of their own? Nothing in the world but human 
prejudice and conceit, human superstition and material- 
ism, masquerading as religion and science. | 

Whatever the testimony and opinion of her critics, 
friendly or hostile, one thing stands out like a flame in 
the night with regard to the character of H. P. Blavatsky 
—she was consistent throughout in all that she said and 
did. Few there be of her critics who can endure the same 
test of sincerity and good faith. Her profession of faith, 
her declaration of principles, may be found in the Preface 
of ‘‘Isis Unveiled’’ in 1877. All the rest that issued from 
her life and pen in the prolific years that followed flowed 
with as mathematical consistency as the theorems of 
geometry issue from its fundamental axioms and 
apothegms. 

There is never anything but two things to consider 
—the credibility and the competency of the witness. 
Search as they did with might and main to find some 
faintest thread whereon to hitch the imputation of base 
motives, and thus to destroy her credibility—not one 
of all the assassins of her reputation ever was able to 
produce aught that might savor of self-interest in any- 
thing she ever said or did. Incredible follies are ascribed 
to her—follies so egregiously stupid as to fall of their 
own weight when attributed even to a child or a dolt; 
impossible immoralities are charged against her—im- 
possible even physically, for her body was that of an 
androgyne, an hermaphrodite. Slanders and calumnies 
without number have been perpetrated against her, but 
every imputation against her motives—and we have as- 
siduously examined the charges of her detractors by hun- 
dreds—rests upon no other basis than suspicion, accusa- 


280 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


tion, repetition. In no solitary instance is one solitary 
fact adduced that would stand a moment’s impartial ex- 
amination. To the contrary, not one of the hundreds of 
original and repeated charges leveled against her but 
betrays the animus, the interested motives of the ac- 
cusers—not of their victim. 

If we turn to the question of her competency, two 
thing's become more convincingly sure the more her career 
is examined: (1) No single fact adduced by her has ever 
been upset by counter-evidence; (2) no postulation laid 
down by her has ever been rendered untenable philosophi- 
cally, logically, or evidentially. Her testimony as to 
facts, her conclusions and theories in regard to the facts, 
remain as invincible as ever. No one of all her enemies 
and opponents ever evinced any appetite to assail her 
philosophy, none ever tried conclusions with her logic and 
boasted afterwards of his success; none ever showed in 
his own life the sincerity, the tolerance, the generosity 
of spirit, the ardor for Truth, lead where it might, that 
burned with a quenchless light throughout her whole 
career. One has but to compare the record of H. P. 
Blavatsky for sincerity and consistency with that of any 
of her detractors, any of her followers, or with his own 
as known to himself, to gain some glimmer of recognition 
that here in our own times in the personage known as 
H. P. Blavatsky is one who, in the luminous zone of the 
eternal great, shines with an undimmed light, needing no 
borrowed radiance; a Messenger from other Spheres 
indeed. 

To the Theosophical student who has gained from her 
and from her mission some flying spark of grateful per- 
ception of the Immortal and the Immortals, nothing can 
call for deeper reflection or more profound consideration 
than what may best be called her dying declarations. The 
accretions of human experience, as concentrated in our 
jurisprudence, have led all men everywhere to attach 
a momentous significance to the last words, whether of 
saint or sinner. The equitable authority of a dying 
declaration is everywhere held to equal the sanction of 
the most solemn oath or other attestation. 


DEATH OF H.P.B. 281 


April 15, 1891, three weeks before the cord broke, she 
signed her last Message to the American Theosophists 
in Convention assembled: 


Suffering in body as I am continually, the only 
consolation that remains to me is to hear of the 
progress of the Holy Cause to which my health 
and strength have been given; but to which, now 
that these are going, I can only offer my pas- 
sionate devotion and never-weakening good 
wishes for its success and welfare. ... Fellow 
Theosophists, I am proud of your noble work in 
the New World; Sisters and Brothers of Amer- 
ica, I thank and I bless you for your unremitting 
labours for the common cause so dear to us all. 

Let me remind you all once more that such 
work is now more than ever needed. The period 
which we have now reached . . . 1s, and will con- 
tinue to be, one of great conflict and continued 
strain. If the T.S. can hold through it, good; if 
not, while Theosophy will remain unscathed, the 
Society will perish—perchance most inglori- 
ously—and the World will suffer. I fervently 
hope that I may not see such a disaster in my 
present body. The critical nature of the stage 
on which we have entered is as well known to 
the forces that fight against us as to those that 
fight on our side. No opportunity will be lost of 
sowing dissension, of taking advantage of mis- 
taken and false moves, of instilling doubt, of 
augmenting difficulties, of breathing suspicions, 
so that by any and every means the unity of the 
Society may be broken and the ranks of our 
Fellows thinned and thrown into disarray. 
Never has it been more necessary for the mem- 
bers of the T.S. to lay to heart the old parable 
of the bundle of sticks than it is at the present 
time; divided, they will inevitably be broken, 
one by one; united, there is no force on earth 
able to destroy our Brotherhood. Now I have 


282 


THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


marked with pain a tendency among you, as 
among the Theosophists in Europe and India, to 
quarrel over trifles, and to allow your very de- 
votion to the cause of Theosophy to lead you into 
disunion. Believe me, that apart from such 
natural tendency, owing to the inherent imper- 
fections of Human Nature, advantage is often 
taken by our ever-watchful enemies of your 
noblest qualities to betray and to mislead you. 
Sceptics will laugh at this statement, and even 
some of you may put small faith in the actual 
existence of the terrible forces of these mental, 
hence subjective and invisible, yet withal living 
and potent, influences around all of us. But 
there they are, and I know of more than one 
among you who have felt them, and have ac- 
tually been forced to acknowledge these ex- 
traneous mental pressures. On those of you 
who are unselfishly and sincerely devoted to the 
Cause, they will produce little, if any, impres- 
sion. On some others, those who place their per- 
sonal pride higher than their duty to the 'LS., 
higher even than their pledge to their divine 
Ser, the effect is generally disastrous. Self- 
watchfulness is never more necessary than when 
a personal wish to lead, and wounded vanity, 
dress themselves in the peacock’s feathers of de- 
votion and altruistic work; but at the present 
crisis of the Society a lack of self-control and 
watchfulness may become fatal in every case. 
But these diabolical attempts of our powerful 
enemies—the irreconcilable foes of the truths 
now being given out and practically asserted— 
may be frustrated. If every Fellow in the So- 
ciety were content to be an impersonal force 
for good, careless of praise or blame so long 
as he subserved the purposes of the Brother- 
hood, the progress made would astonish the 
World and place the Ark of the T.S. out of 
danger. ... 


DEATH OF H.P.B. 


Your position as the fore-runners of the sixth 
sub-race of the fifth root-race has its own special 
perils as well as its special advantages. Psy- 
chism, with all its allurements and all its dan- 
gers, is necessarily developing among you, and 
you must beware lest the Psychic outruns the 
Manasic and Spiritual development. Psychic 
capacities held perfectly under control, checked 
and directed by the Manasic principle, are valu- 
able aids in development. But these capacities 
running riot, controlling instead of controlled, 
using instead of being used, lead the Student 
into the most dangerous delusions and the cer- 
tainty of moral destruction. Watch therefore 
earefully this development, inevitable in your 
race and evolution-period, so that it may finally 
work for good and not for evil; and receive, in 
advance, the sincere and potent blessings of 
Those whose good-will will never fail you, if you 
do not fail yourselves... . 

And now I have said all. I am not sufficiently 
strong to write a more lengthy message, and 
there is the less need for me to do so as my 
friend and trusted messenger, Annie Besant, 
she who is my right arm here, will be able to 
explain to you my wishes more fully and better 
than I can write them. After all, every wish 
and thought I can utter are summed up in this 
one sentence, the never-dormant wish of my 
heart, ‘‘Be Theosophists, work for Theosophy !”’ 
Theosophy first, and Theosophy last; for its 
practical realization alone can save the West- 
ern world from that selfish and unbrotherly feel- 
ing that now divides race from race; one nation 
from the other; and from that hatred of class 
and social considerations that are the curse and 
disgrace of so-called Christian peoples. The- 
osophy alone can keep it from sinking into that 
mere luxurious materialism in which it will de- 
cay and putrefy as civilizations have done. In 


283 


284 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


your hands, brothers, is placed in trust the wel- 
fare of the coming century; and great as is the 
trust, so great is also the responsibility. My own 
span of life may not be long, and if any of you 
have learned aught from my teachings or have 
gained by my help a glimpse of the True Light, 
I ask you, in return, to strengthen the Cause 
by the triumph of which that True Light, made 
still brighter and more glorious through your 
individual and collective efforts, will lighten the 
World, and thus to let me see, before I part with 
this worn-out body, the stability of the Society 
secured. 

May the blessings of the past and present 
great Teachers rest upon you. From myself ac- 
cept collectively the assurance of my true, never- 
wavering fraternal feelings, and the sincere, 
heartfelt thanks for the work done by all the 
workers. 

From their servant to the last, 

H. P. Buavatsxy. 


This moving valedictory to the American Theosophists 
was read to the Convention by Mrs. Besant, whom 
H.P.B. had sent to America for the purpose and to meet 
Mr. Judge. 

Again, but ten days before her departure, H.P.B. 
affixed her signature and the date, as to a Testament, to 
the article ‘‘My Books,’’ which was published in Lucifer 
for May 15, 1891, immediately following her death. It 
is the last article written by H.P.B. She says: 


Isis was full of misprints and misquotations; 
it contained useless repetitions, most irritating 
digressions, and to the casual reader unfamiliar 
with the various aspects of metaphysical ideas 
and symbols, as many apparent contradictions; 
much of the matter in it ought not to be there 
at all, and also it had some very gross mistakes 
due to the many alterations in proofreading in 


DEATH OF H.P.B. 


general, and word corrections in particular. 
Finally, the work, for reasons that will now be 
explained, has no system in it. ... 

The full consciousness of this sad truth 
dawned upon me when, for the first time after 
its publication in 1877, I read the work through 
from the first to the last page, in India in 1881. 
And from that date to the present, I have never 
ceased to say what I thought of it, and to give 
my honest opinion of Jsis whenever I had an op- 
portunity for so doing. This was done to the 
great disgust of some, who warned me that I 
was spoiling its sale; but as my chief object in 
writing it was neither personal fame nor gain, 
but something far higher, I cared little for such 
warnings. For more than ten years this unfor- 
tunate ‘‘masterpiece,’’ this ‘‘monumental 
work,’’ as some reviews have called it, with its 
hideous metamorphoses of one word into an- 
other, thereby entirely transforming the mean- 
ing, with its misprints and wrong quotation 
marks, has given me more anxiety and trouble 
during a long lifetime which has ever been more 
full of thorns than of roses. 

But in spite of these perhaps too great admis- 
sions, I maintain that Isis Unveiled contains a 
mass of original and never hitherto divulged in- 
formation on occult subjects. . . . Prepared to 
take upon myself—vicariously as I will show— 
the sins of all the external, purely literary de- 
fects of the work, I defend the ideas and teach- 
ings in it, with no fear of being charged with 
conceit, since neither ideas nor teachings are 
mine, as I have always declared; and I maintain 
that both are of the greatest value to mystics 
and students of Theosophy. ... 

The first enemies that my work brought to 
the front were Spiritualists, whose fundamental 
theories as to the spirits of the dead communi- 
eating in propria persona I upset. For the 


285 


286 


THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


last fifteen years—ever since this first publica- 
tion—an incessant shower of ugly accusations 
have been poured upon me. Every libellous 
charge, from immorality and the ‘‘ Russian 
spy’’ theory down to my acting on false pre- 
tences, of being a chronic fraud and a hving 
lie, an habitual drunkard, an emissary of the 
Pope, paid to break down Spiritualism, and 
Satan incarnate, every slander that can be 
thought of, has been brought to bear upon my 
private and public life. The fact that not a 
single one of these charges has ever been sub- 
stantiated; that from the first day of January to 
the last of December, year after year, I have 
lived surrounded by friends and foes as in a 
glass-house,—nothing could stop these wicked, 
venomous, and thoroughly unscrupulous 
tongues. It has been said at various times by 
my ever-active opponents that (1) Isis Unveiled 
was simply a rehash of Eliphas Lévi and a few 
old alchemists; (2) that it was written by me 
under the dictation of Evil Powers and the de- 
parted spirits of Jesuits (sic); and finally (3) 
that my two volumes had been compiled from 
MSS. (never before heard of), which Baron de 
Palm—he of the cremation and double-burial 
fame—had left behind him, and which I had 
found in his trunk! On the other hand, friends, 
as unwise as they were kind, spread abroad 
that which was really the truth, a little too en- 
thusiastically, about the connection of my Hast- 
ern Teacher and other Occultists with the work, 
and this was seized upon by the enemy and ex- 
aggerated out of all limits of truth. It was said 
that the whole of Jsis has been dictated to me 
from cover to cover and verbatim by these in- 
visible Adepts. And, as the imperfections of my 
work were only too glaring, the consequence of 
all this idle and malicious talk was that my 
enemies and critics inferred—as well they might 


DEATH OF H.P.B. 


—that either these invisible inspirers had no ex- 
istence, and were part of my ‘‘fraud,’’ or that 
they lacked the cleverness of even an average 
good writer. 

Now, no one has any right to hold me responsi- 
ble for what any one may say, but only for that 
which I myself state orally, or in public print 
over my signature. And what I say and main- 
tain is this: Save the direct quotations and the 
many afore specified and mentioned misprints, 
errors and misquotations, and the general 
make-up of Isis Unveiled, for which I am in no 
way responsible, (a) every word of information 
found in this work or in my later writings, comes 
from the teachings of our Eastern Masters; and 
(b) that many a passage in these works has been 
written by me under their dictation. In saying 
this no supernatural claim is urged, for no mir- 
acle is performed by such a dictation. Any mod- 
erately intelligent person, convinced by this time 
of the many possibilities of hypnotism . . . and 
of the phenomena of thought-transference, will 
easily concede that if even a hypnotized subject, 
a mere irresponsible medium, hears the unex- 
pressed thought of his hypnotizer, who can thus 
transfer his thought to him—even to repeating 
the words read by the hypnotizer mentally from 
a book—then my claim has nothing impossible 
in it. Space and distance do not exist for 
thought; and if two persons are in perfect mu- 
tual psycho-magnetic rapport, and of these two, 
one is a great Adept in Occult Sciences, then 
thought-transference and dictation of whole 
pages, becomes as easy and as comprehensible at 
the distance of ten thousand miles as the trans- 
ference of two words across a room. 

Hitherto, I have abstained—except on very 
rare occasions—from answering any criticism 
on my works, and have even left direct lies and 
slanders unrefuted, because in the case of [sis 


287 


288 


THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


I found almost every kind of criticism justifiable, 
and in that of ‘‘slanders and lies,’’ my contempt 
for the slanderers was too great to permit me to 
notice them. .. . But, as Jsvs is now attacked for 
at least the tenth time, the day has come when 
my perplexed friends and that portion of the 
public which may be in sympathy with Theoso- 
phy are entitled to the whole truth—and nothing 
but the truth. Not that I seek to excuse myself 
in anything even before them or to ‘‘explain 
things.’’ It is nothing of the kind. What I am 
determined to do is to give facts, undeniable and 
not to be gainsaid, simply by stating the peculiar, 
well-known to many but now almost forgotten, 
circumstances, under which I wrote my first 
English work. I give them seriatium. 

(1) When I came to America in 1873, I had 
not spoken English—which I had learned in my 
childhood, colloquially—for over thirty years. 
I could understand when I read it, but could 
hardly speak the language. 

(2) I had never been at any college, and what 
IT knew I had taught myself; I have never pre- 
tended to any scholarship in the sense of modern 
research; I had then hardly read any scientific 
Kuropean works, knew little of Western philoso- 
phy and sciences. The little which I had studied 
and learned of these, disgusted me with its mate- 
rialism, its limitations, narrow cut-and-dried 
spirit of dogmatism, and its air of superiority 
over the philosophies and sciences of antiquity. 

(3) Until 1874 I had never written one word 
in Kinglish, nor had I published any work in any 
language. Therefore— 

(4) I had not the least idea of literary rules. 
The art of writing books, of preparing them for 
print and publication, reading and correcting 
proofs, were so many closed secrets to me. 

(5) When I started to write that which de- 
veloped later into Isis Unveiled, I had no more 


DEATH OF H.P.B. 


idea than the man in the moon what would come 
of it. I had no plan; did not know whether it 
would be an essay, a pamphlet, a book, or an 
article. I knew that I had to write it, that was 
all. I began the work before I knew Colonel Ol- 
cott well, and some months before the forma- 
tion of the Theosophical Society. 

Thus, the conditions for becoming the author 
of an English theosophical and scientific work 
were hopeful, as everyone will see. Neverthe- 
less, I had written enough to fill four such vol- 
umes as /sis, before I submitted my work to 
Colonel Olcott. Of course he said that every- 
thing save the pages dictated—had to be re- 
written. Then we started on our literary labours 
and worked together every evening. Some pages, 
the English of which he had corrected, I copied: 
others which would yield to no mortal correction, 
he used to read aloud from my pages, English- 
ing them verbally as he went on, dictating to me 
from my almost undecipherable MSS. It is to 
him that I am indebted for the English in Jsis. 
It is he again who suggested that the work 
should be divided into chapters, and the first 
volume devoted to Scrrence and the second to 
Tueoitocy. ‘To do this, the matter had to be re- 
shifted, and many of the chapters also; repeti- 
tions had to be erased, and the literary connec- 
tion of subjects attended to. When the work 
was ready, we submitted it to Professor Alex- 
ander Wilder, the well-known scholar and 
Platonist of New York, who after reading the 
matter, recommended it to Mr. Bouton for 
publication. Next to Col. Oleott, it is Pro- 
fessor Wilder who did the most for me. It is 
he who made the excellent Index, who corrected 
the Greek, Latin and Hebrew words, suggested 
quotations and wrote the greater part of the 
Introduction ‘‘Before the Veil.’’ If this was not 
acknowledged in the work, the fault is not mine, 


289 


290 


THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


but because it was Dr. Wilder’s express wish 
that his name should not appear except in foot- 
notes. I have never made a secret of it, and 
every one of my numerous acquaintances in New 
York knew it. When ready the work went to 
press. 

From that moment the real difficulty began. 
T had no idea of correcting galley-proofs; Colo- 
nel Olcott had little leisure to do so; and the re- 
sult was that I made a mess of it from the be- 
oinning. Before we were through with the first 
three chapters, there was a bill for six hundred 
dollars for corrections and alterations, and I had 
to give up the proofreading. Pressed by the 
publisher, Colonel Olcott doing all that he pos- 
sibly could do, but having no time except in the 
evenings, and Dr. Wilder far away at Jersey 
City, the result was that the proofs and pages 
of Ists passed through a number of willing but 
not very careful hands, and were finally left to 
the tender mercies of the publisher’s proof- 
reader. Can one wonder after this if ‘‘ Vaivas- 
wata’’ (Manu) became transformed in the pub- 
lished volumes into ‘‘ Viswamitra,’’ that thirty- 
six pages of the Index were irretrievably lost, 
and quotation-marks placed where none were 
needed (as in some of my own sentences!), and 
left out entirely in many a passage cited from 
various authors? If asked why these fatal mis- 
takes have not been corrected in a subsequent 
edition, my answer is simple; the plates were 
stereotyped; and notwithstanding all my desire 
to do so, I could not put it into practice, as the 
plates were the property of the publisher; I had 
no money to pay for the expenses, and finally the 
firm was quite satisfied to let things be as they 
are, since, notwithstanding all its glaring de- 
fects, the work—which has now reached its sev- 
enth or eighth edition, is still in demand. 

And now—and perhaps in consequence of all 


DEATH OF H.P.B. 


this—comes a new accusation: I am charged 
with wholesale plagiarism in the Introductory 
Chapter ‘‘Before the Veil.”’ 

Well, had I committed plagiarism, I should 
not feel the slightest hesitation in admitting 
the ‘‘borrowing.’’ But all ‘‘parallel passages’’ 
to the contrary, as I have not done so, I do not 
see why I should confess it... 

[Isis] . .. is an inexhaustible mine of mis- 
quotations, errors and blunders, to which it is 
impossible for me to plead ‘‘guilty’’ in the ordi- 
nary sense. .. . I have no author’s vanity; and 
years of unjust persecution and abuse have made 
me entirely callous to what the public may think 
of me—personally. 

But in view of the facts as given above; and 
considering that— 

(a) The language in Jsis is not mine; but 
(with the exception of that portion of the work 
which, as I claim, was dictated), may be called 
only a sort of translation of my facts and ideas 
into English; 

(b) It was not written for the public,—the 
latter having always been only a secondary con- 
sideration with me—but for the use of Theoso- 
phists and members of the Theosophical Society 
to which sis is dedicated; 

(c) Though I have since learned sufficient 
English to have been enabled to edit two maga- 
zines .. . yet, to the present hour I never write 
an article, an editorial or even a simple para- 
graph, without submitting its English to close 
scrutiny and correction. 

Considering all this and much more, I ask 
now every impartial and honest man or woman 
whether it is just or even fair to criticize my 
works—Isis above all others—as one would the 
writings of a born American or English author. 
What I claim in them as my own is only the fruit 
of my learning and studies in a department, 


291 


292 


THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


hitherto left uninvestigated by Science, and al- 
most unknown to the European world. I am per- 
fectly willing to leave the honour of the English 
grammar in them, the glory of the quotations 
from scientific works brought occasionally to me 
to. be used as passages for comparison with, or 
refutation by, the old Science, and finally the 
general make-up of the volumes, to every one of 
those who have helped me. Even for the Secret 
Doctrine there are about half-a-dozen Theoso- 
phists who have been busy in editing it, who have 
helped me to arrange the matter, correct the im- 
perfect English, and prepare it for print. But 
that which none of them will ever claim from 
first to last, is the fundamental doctrine, the 
philosophical conclusions and teachings. Noth- 
ing of that have I invented, but simply given it 
out as I have been taught; or as quoted by me 
in the Secret Doctrine (Vol. I, p. 46) from Mon- 
taigne: ‘‘I have here made only a nosegay of 
culled (Hastern) flowers, and have brought 
nothing of my own but the string that ties them.’’ 
Is any one of my helpers prepared to say that 

I have not paid the full price for the string? 
H. P. Buavatsky. 


CHAPTER XIX 
THE CRISIS IN THE SOCIETY 


At the time of H.P.B.’s death Mr. Judge was in 
New York, Mrs. Besant in mid-ocean on her homeward 
voyage from her visit as H.P.B.’s messenger to the 
Convention of the American Section, Col. Olcott in Aus- 
tralia, whither he had gone partly on business for the 
Society, and partly on account of his health, which was 
greatly impaired. On receipt of the news of H.P.B.’s 
death Mr. Judge cabled to London that he would come 
on the first boat and to keep her things intact till his 
arrival. Cables were also exchanged between Mr. Judge 
and Col. Olcott, and the latter, who was on the point 
of departing for New Zealand, advised both London 
and New York that he would go at once to England. 

The death of H.P.B. necessarily aroused great un- 
certainties and speculations as to what might befall 
the Society, its Esoteric Section, and the solidarity of its 
unwieldy and poorly amalgamated elements. Her pres- 
ence being removed, her pervading influence no longer 
being directly exercised, her commanding voice no longer 
possible to be heard, what was going to be done by her 
lieutenants and by the rank and file of her followers? 
Although she had never held any but a purely nominal 
official position during the entire life of the Society, 
H.P.B. had none the less been not only the inspiring 
genius of its foundation but its guiding star. 

It will be remembered that the membership, the pro- 
ceedings, the meetings, and the instructions of the Eso- 
teric Section were all under the seal of secrecy,’ every 
member making the most solemn pledge in that as in 
other respects. Neither Col. Olcott nor Mr. Sinnett 
were members of the Hsoteric Section; Dr. Coues had 

*See Chapter IX. 

293 


294 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


been declined admission; Miss Mabel Collins had been 
admitted and dismissed for flagrant violation of her 
pledges, as had Mr. Michael Angelo Lane. There were 
very few members of the E.S. in India and the Orient 
generally, few on the Continent of Kurope, the larger 
membership being from the beginning in the United 
States and, next to that, in England. As no one was 
received who was not also a member in good standing 
of the T.S.; as the bulk of the financial and other sup- 
port of the T.S. came from England and the United 
States, and nearly all the literature of Theosophy and 
most of the periodicals devoted to it were printed in 
the English language, the formation and rise of the Eso- 
teric Section afforded ample occasion for speculations, 
doubts, and fears on the part of Col. Olcott, Mr. Sinnett, 
and others who were prominent in the Society and well 
pleased with its conduct and progress on lines satisfac- 
tory to themselves. They saw in the Esoteric Section 
a standing menace, because it was a secret body pledged, 
not to the Society but to the Theosophical Movement; 
looking, not to the Organization and its Officers for direc- 
tion, but to H.P.B. and Mr. Judge; concerned not at all 
with the ‘‘neutrality’’ of the Society on all matters of 
philosophy, religion, and science, but pledged to study, 
promulgate, and practice Theosophy. 

Mrs. Annie Besant had become a convert to Theosophy 
early in 1889, very shortly after the defection of Miss 
Mabel Collins and Dr. Coues. She had ceased her con- 
nection with Mr. Charles Bradlaugh and with atheistic 
and socialistic activities, joined the ‘‘household’’ of 
H.P.B., been admitted to the Esoteric Section, had be- 
come President of the Blavatsky Lodge, was made by 
H.P.B. Co-Editor of Lucifer, and within a few months 
her reputation, her ardor, and her intellectual abilities 
made her the right hand of H.P.B. In the eyes of the 
world and of most members of the Society, she was the 
foremost light in the Theosophical firmament after 
H.P.B., and destined after H.P.B.’s death to become 
the central luminary in the Theosophical heavens. She 
had been the prime supporter of the movement among 


CRISIS IN THE SOCIETY 295 


Kuropean and English Theosophists to use Alexandrian 
methods to cut the Gordian knot of Col. Oleott’s in- 
cessant intermeddling through his Presidential ukases 
in the active conduct of the work in the West, which 
resulted in the taking over by H.P.B., at the almost 
unanimous request of the membership, of the Presiden- 
tial powers and authority for the whole of Kurope—an 
action which Col. Olcott accepted with what grace he 
could. As will be remembered, a British Section modeled 
on the same democratic lines as the original American 
Section, had been formed near the close of 1888. After 
H.P.B. had assumed the Presidency of the Huropean 
Societies and the European ‘‘unattached’’ Fellows, in 
the summer of 1890, she had planned to organize them, 
together with the Branches and Lodges in Great Britain, 
into a single autonomous Section, nominally and in aim 
an integral portion of the Theosophical Society, recog- 
nizing and supporting Col. Olcott as titular President- 
Founder of all the Societies the world over, but actually 
and practically entirely independent of any jurisdiction 
outside of or other than the democratic decisions of its 
own Branches and Fellows, in delegate Convention 
assembled. 

The situation Mr. Judge had to meet was thus one of 
great and peculiar difficulty. On the one hand was the 
jealousy felt by Col. Olcott, Mr. Sinnett, and others, 
over the influence of the Esoteric Section on the fortunes 
of the exoteric Society. On the other hand was the 
problem of Mrs. Besant, as placed before him by H.P.B. 
in her letter to him of March 27, 1891, shortly before 
her death. Although of great ability, strong will, and 
intense devotion, Mrs. Besant was, as stated in that 
letter, “not psychic or spiritual in the least—all in- 
tellect.’’ From being a confirmed materialist for many 
years, she had been a Probationer of the Esoteric Sec- 
tion but two years, while accepted chelaship in Masters’ 
Lodge requires a minimum of seven years’ probation 
under the most favorable circumstances. Her ordeals 
of chelaship were yet to come; nevertheless she was the 
most prominent member, both of the Society and the 


296 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


Esoteric Section, and it was certain the English and 
Huropean members would follow her course, whatever 
it might be. 

So soon as Mr. Judge reached London he called to- 
gether as Vice-President a Consultative Hmergency 
Council, consisting of the Huropean Advisory Council, 
as named by H.P.B., and the members of the General 
Council of the British Section. A meeting was held 
on May 23 and it was resolved to summon a convention 
of the European and British Sections to meet at the 
London Headquarters on July 9, 1891. Also, as the rep- 
resentative of H.P.B. in the Esoteric Section, he called 
a conference of its Advisory Council which was held on 
May 27, 1891. There were present Mr. Judge, Mrs. 
Besant, Miss Alice Leighton Cleather, Miss Isabel 
Cooper-Oakley, Miss Laura M. Cooper, Messrs. H. A. W. 
Coryn, Archibald Keightley, William Kingsland, Miss 
Emily Kislingbury, Messrs. G. R. S. Mead, W. R. Old, 
K. T. Sturdy, Constance Wachtmeister, Messrs. W. 
Wynn Westcott and Claude F. Wright. Aside from 
Mr. Judge all those named were then residents of Eng- 
land, were actively connected with the Society and its 
work, were all members of the E.S. formally admitted 
by H.P.B. under pledge during the preceding two and 
a half years, and all were Councillors E. S. T.—an ad- 
visory body appointed by H.P.B. to assist her in the 
multitudinous details of the Esoteric Section, whose 
name had meantime—in 1889—been changed to that of 
the ‘‘Kastern School of Theosophy.’’ A general discus- 
sion took place, participated in by all those present. The 
important matters of the meeting (with one exception’), 
and the decisions reached were embodied in a circular 
letter dated the day of the meeting, and signed by all 
those in attendance, Mr. Judge signing ‘‘for the entire 
American Council EK. 8S. T., and individually,’’ and each 
of the others signing as ‘‘Councillor E.8S.T.’’ A copy 
of this circular, which was headed ‘‘Strictly private and 
confidential,’’ was sent to each member of the E.S.T. 
Although signed by all, the actual wording of the cir- 

*See Chapter XXVI. 


CRISIS IN THE SOCIETY 297 


cular was the work of Mrs. Besant, with some changes 
and corrections suggested by Mr. Judge and concurred 
in by those present at the meeting. As a portion of the 
circular there was included an address to the members 
of the E.S.T., signed by Mrs. Besant and Mr. Judge. 

That portion of the circular signed by all who attended 
the conference recites: 


The American Councillors were represented 
by Bro. William Q. Judge, with full power, and 
Bro. Judge attended as the representatwe of 
H.P.B. under a general power as given below. 


This ‘‘general power’’ is the document by H.P.B. 
dated December 14, 1888, which will be given in full 
later on.® 

Additional decisions reached by the full Council at 
the meeting are set forth in these extracts: 


In virtue of our appointment by H.P.B. we 
declare: 

That in full accord with the known wishes of 
H.P.B. the visible Head of the School, we pr- 
marily record and declare that the work of the 
School ought and shall be continued and carried 
on along the lines laid down by her, and with the 
matter left in writing or dictated by her before 
her departure... 

That her words to Bro. Judge in a recent 
letter were read stating that this Section (now 
School) is the ‘‘throbbing heart of the The- 
osophical Society.’’ 

That it was resolved and recorded that the 
highest officials in the School for the present are 
Annie Besant and William Q. Judge... . 

That having read the address drawn up by 
Annie Besant and William Q. Judge, we put on 
record our full accord with it. 

That this Council records its decision that its 
appowmtment was solely for the purpose of as- 

*See Chapter XXXT. 


298 


The address to the members of the E.S.T., signed 
by Mr. Judge and Mrs. Besant, and incorporated in the 
circular, was in fact partly written by each, though 
signed by both. Their joint and several remarks are 
characteristic in more ways than one. 


THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


sisting H.P.B. im a consultative way, and that 
as she had full power and authority to relieve us 
from duty at any time, our office and that of each 
of us ends with the above resolution passed in 
order as far as possible in our power to place 
the future conduct of the School on the basis 
directed and intended by her; therefore we col- 
lectively and individually declare that our office 
as Councillors ceases at this date, and that from 
henceforth with Annie Besant and William Q. 
Judge rest the full charge and management of 
this School. 


actually written by Mrs. Besant she says: 


. it is our duty, as the two selected by 
H.P.B. as her agents and representatives after 
her departure, to specially speak to each one of 
you respecting the duty laid on the School by 
her retirement from the visible control of its 
affairs. The future of this body depends on the 
way in which this test of steadfastness and loy- 
alty is endured by the members collectively and 
individually. . . . it will ill become her pupils 
if they desert the great Cause to which her life 
was given, and invite the terrible Karma that 
must fall on those who break the solemn pledge 
that each of us has made. The School is the 
heart of the Society ; if the heart ceases to throb, 
the Society must die, as a living power, and 
slowly decay while passing into a mere sect. 
... It is not that the Masters will not help 
the School if we are supine; it is that they can- 
not, for they are bound by law, not by law of 
man’s creation but by the immutable Law of na- 


In that portion 


CRISIS IN THE SOCIETY 299 


ture which always works through agents appro- 
priate to the end in view. 


This is followed without a break by that portion of 
the address which was written by Mr. Judge: 


Consider the position of the School: we are 
no longer a band of students taught by a visible 
Teacher; we are a band of students mutually 
interdependent, forced to rely on each other for 
our usefulness and our progress, until our very 
brotherliness in mutual help shall draw a visible 
Teacher back among us. H.P.B. remains one 
of our Heads though H. P. Blavatsky is ‘‘dead,’’ 
and the Heads of the School have not with- 
drawn Their guidance in withdrawing the pres- 
ence chosen to represent Them for a time on 
which we have rejoiced to lean. 

Especially important is it that at the present 
juncture we should bear in mind the words of 
H.P.B., written at the conclusion of the Key 
to Theosophy. In laying stress on the knowl- 
edge and wisdom that will be required by those 
on whom it falls to carry on the work of the 
Society after her departure, she explains that 
those qualities only can save the Theosophical 
Society from ending in failure. All previous at- 
tempts have thus failed (in accomplishing their 
mission in full) because they have degenerated 
into sects, and we have her word for it that, un- 
less we be freed from bias, ‘‘or at least taught 
to recognize it instantly and so avoid being led 
away by it, the result can only be that the So- 
ciety will drift off to some sandbank of thought 
or another, and there remain a stranded carease 
to moulder and decay.’’. . 

There, then, is our next pressing work, our 
most mighty responsibility. For if we of this 
School, Brothers and Sisters, cannot accomplish 
this task, the Theosophical Society is doomed. 


300 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


Not in vain will come to you these tones of her 
living voice, speaking across ‘‘the change that 
men call death,’’ for we know that she lives and 
is watching with grave, strong interest how they 
acquit themselves whose pledge can in no wise 
be altered by her departure into the invisible. 
That pledge was not given to the personality, it 
was given to Masters’ Lodge and given also to 
the Higher Self invoked to witness it. It can 
therefore never be recalled, however much it may 
be denied. 

We who write to you claim over you no au- 
thority save such as she delegated to us. We are 
your fellow students, chosen by her—the Mes- 
senger of the Masters of Wisdom—as Their 
channels to the measure of our ability, during 
this period of darkness... . 

We believe in H.P.B. and in the Masters, 
and it is enough to us that they say, ‘‘Go and 
carry on our work along the lines on which you 
have been instructed. .. .”’ 

For the use of all of us, there are written 
teachings left by H.P.B. in our hands that will 
give food for study and thought for many a year 
to come, and though the main duty of the Kso- 
tericist is service to others, and not personal 
advancement in knowledge, it is characteristic 
of her thought for us that behind her she left in- 
tellectual and spiritual food for the earnest stu- 
dent, as well as the charge to complete her un- 
finished work. 


The circular as signed by all the Councillors recorded 
that H.P.B.’s ‘‘last words in reference to the School 
and its work were: ‘Keep tue Linx Unsroxen! Do 
Not Ler My Last IncagnaTion BE A F'atuure.’’’ The 
reference by Mr. Judge in the joint address of Mrs. 
Besant and himself, to the ‘‘Key to Theosophy’’ was to 
the concluding section entitled ‘‘The Future of the The- 


CRISIS IN THE SOCIETY 301 


osophical Society,’’ and to be found at p. 304 of the 
original edition of that work. 

Thus was the crisis in the School occasioned by the 
death of H.P.B. met and resolved by the determination 
that its conduct should henceforth be ‘‘on the lines laid 
down by her, and with the matter left in writing or 
dictated by her before her departure,’’ and by the de- 
cision to leave its future ‘‘charge and management’’ 
with Mrs. Besant and Mr. Judge. 


CHAPTER XX 
ATTEMPTS TO SUPERSEDE H.P.B.’S INFLUENCE 


CoLonEL Oucort arrived in England at the end of June, 
Mr. Judge remaining in London to meet him and to 
participate in the Convention of the European Section 
called for July 9, 1891. Colonel Olcott was made ac- 
quainted in a general way with what action had been 
taken in connection with the affairs of the Esoteric Sec- 
tion. The common feeling of loss, the general sense of 
uncertainty as to the future, the pressing necessity 
for concord, the hopeful augury provided by the circular 
of May 27 to the E.S., and the awakened sense of indi- 
vidual responsibility for the success of the Movement, 
now that its great Messenger was no more among them, 
all combined to allay frictions, dispel rivalries, and 
arouse the spirit of real fraternity. There being then 
present in London the best known and most respected 
leaders of the Society from Asia, America, and Eng- 
land, the Convention of the European Section, in the 
circumstances recited, became the first real convocation 
and assembly of the whole Society since its foundation. 

Colonel Olcott, as President-Founder of the whole 
Society, presided at the sessions, Mr. Judge attended as 
Vice-President of the Society, as General Secretary of 
the American Section, and as Chairman of the Executive 
Committee of the American Section. Mrs. Besant was 
present as President of the Blavatsky Lodge of London, 
at the time the largest of the Societies in Great Britain. 
The various British and Continental Lodges were repre- 
sented by delegates or proxies. In addition there were 
numerous visiting Fellows from the United States, from 
India, and from Australia, all of whom bore the cordial, 
if unofficial, greetings from the scattered members and 
Branches. 

302 


ATTEMPTS TO SUPERSEDE H.P.B. 303 


The London Lodge was not represented in person by 
its President, Mr. Sinnett, nor by any delegate. From 
the beginning of his leadership of the London Lodge 
Mr. Sinnett’s influence had held it aloof from the gen- 
eral activities of the Society at large, though nominally 
a Branch of the Society. When the Blavatsky Lodge 
was formed at London shortly after H.P.B. had taken 
up her permanent residence in England, its original 
membership was entirely composed of former members 
of the London Lodge. Mr. Sinnett had been equally 
opposed, both to its formation and to the policy of active 
public propaganda for membership regardless of class 
distinctions. The formation of the Blavatsky Lodge, 
the publication of the ‘‘Secret Doctrine,’’ with its cor- 
rections of his presentation of the teachings of Theoso- 
phy in his book ‘‘Ksoteric Buddhism,’’ and other mat- 
ters which he could not approve, had all served to alienate 
his sympathies. His London Lodge discontinued all but 
closed meetings for its members only and formed a quasi- 
exclusive body. The active efforts of Col. Olcott, with 
whom he had always remained on terms of friendship, 
the olive branch tendered by Mrs. Besant and others, 
and the consideration shown him by Mr. Judge, so far 
prevailed as to ameliorate the somewhat strained situ- 
ation, and the London Lodge sent a letter to the 
Convention. 

This letter, signed by the Secretary, Mr. C. W. Lead- 
beater, is distinctly formal, not to say reserved, in its 
tone. It recites the history of the London Lodge, gives 
a chronological account of its activities, and concludes 
with the following paragraph: | 


On the formation of the ‘‘British Section’’ in 
1889, the London Lodge asserted the principle 
of complete autonomy as that on which it pre- 
ferred to proceed; and with the concurrence of 
the President of the Parent Society, Col. Olcott, 
it remained an independent Branch of the So- 
ciety outside that organization. Later on, when 
Madame Blavatsky formed the European Sec- 


304 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


tion under her own Presidentship, on principles 
which provided merely for a consultative council 
to assist her in discharging the functions of that 
office, the London Lodge cordially consented to 
be included in that arrangement. Clinging with 
great tenacity, however, to the principle of au- 
tonomy, it will now revert to its former status, 
and while heartily in sympathy with all bodies 
recognized as parts of the world-wide Theosophi- 
cal Society, which Madame Blavatsky and Colo- 
nel Olcott founded, it will not take any share in 
the administration or control of any other 
branches, and will continue responsible alone to 
the original authority from which it sprang in 
reference to the conduct of its own affairs. 


This letter was read to the Convention by Mr. G. R. S. 
Mead, General Secretary of the European Section, and 
was received without comment or objection. The full 
text of the letter of the London Lodge will be found 
in the Official Report of the Convention. The Conven- 
tion itself is denominated on the cover and text page, 
not as a convention of the European Section, T.S., but 
as The Theosophical Society in Europe, the name adopted 
by? HP. B: 

The proceedings of the Convention were opened by 
Mrs. Besant with a brief address of welcome to Col. 
Olcott. 

Mr. Judge warmly seconded Mrs. Besant’s remarks, 
and in taking the chair Col. Olcott spoke with great 
feeling. 

Mr. Judge offered Resolutions for the creation of an 
H.P.B. Memorial Fund, to be devoted to such publica- 
tions ‘‘as will tend to promote that intimate union be- 
tween the life and thought of the Orient and the Occi- 
dent to the bringing about of which her life was de- 
voted.’’ In seconding these resolutions Mrs. Besant 
said: 

. will the Convention permit me to add that 
it certainly has the approval of all those who 


ATTEMPTS TO SUPERSEDE H.P.B. 305 


were closely connected with her during the latter 
years of her life; that her leaving us is in no 
manner a change in her position in this Society, 
nor a change in the lines along which her work 
will be directed. ... May I say for those who 
lived most closely with her that what she was 
with us in her visible presence she is to us still: 
friend and guide, teacher and master. We know 
no change because she has passed from the 
visible into the invisible, and in asking you to 
found this memorial we ask you to found it, not 
to a dead teacher, but to a living energy, an 
energy as real now as it was real when clothed 
in the body of H. P. Blavatsky; a memorial in- 
deed of our love to her, but of a love of a living 
presence whom we recognise amongst us still. 


A letter of greeting, signed by Mr. Judge as Gen- 
eral Secretary, was read from the American Section: 


It is with great pleasure that I convey to you 
the brotherly and affectionate greetings of the 
American Section of our beloved Society, know- 
ing that had I the time to call that Section to- 
gether it would, without a dissenting voice, thank 
you for the work you have done, and encourage 
you to go on to still better work for the future. 
It would also, I am sure, give you full assurance 
of the value of organizing yourselves into a sin- 
gle body, for experience has shown us that only 
thus can good and wide work be done, and in no 
other way can you carry to a successful issue the 
task left by our beloved friend and co-worker, 
H.P.B. Unity is strength; division leads to 
weakness, decay and final dissolution. Hence the 
American Section views with pleasure the pros- 
pect of all the European Branches being closely 
massed together with a common object, a single 
organization. May your deliberations lead not 
only to greater energy in your own field but also 


306 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


to an added interest, sympathy and strength 
throughout the whole area of International The- 
osophical work. 


When the Convention had concluded its work, the 
President-Founder made some parting remarks, from 
which we quote: 


Our task is done. We have met together in 
this friendly Conference; we have discussed the 
method of laying the basis for the future work 
of the Society; we have come to a fraternal 
agreement to make all parts of the Society work 
together in harmony; we have linked hands 
across the Atlantic and across the Southern seas, 
and pledged ourselves to each other to carry on 
this mission which was undertaken by H.P.B., 
and which we have been sharers in. The outside 
world are looking with curiosity to see what 
effect the death of H.P.B. will have upon us. 
The answer is to be obtained in the proceed- 
ings of this Convention....In her death 
H.P.B. speaks more potently to us even than 
she did in her life. The tattered veil of the per- 
sonality has been drawn aside, and the individu- 
ality which we knew only as a light shining from 
afar, is now before us to guide us on our way. 
... Whatever strength we have to the outside 
world depends upon the purity of our principles, 
the unselfishness of our behaviour, and our loy- 
alty to the eclectic platform of our constitution. 
. . . No greater shock could possibly have come 
to us than the death of Mme. Blavatsky, and if 
the movement has survived it, then take my as- 
surance that nothing whatever can affect us so 
long as we keep in view the principles upon 
which our movement is based and go fearlessly 
on to what lies to our hand to do... . Let us 
determine that at all costs this Society shall be 
kept impartial, calm, fraternal, benevolent, tol- 


ATTEMPTS TO SUPERSEDE H.P.B. S07 


erant, as regards all groups of the family of 
mankind. If we do this, if we place a guard upon 
any disposition on our part to be narrow, or 
prejudiced, or sectarian, we shall have earned 
the gratitude of our generation, and be remem- 
bered by posterity as those who sought to do 
good to their fellow men; but if, on the contrary, 
we allow ourselves to be influenced by these petty 
considerations of social position, or of race, or 
differences of creed, we will die out and be re- 
membered only as an unworthy Association that 
lifted a banner which it was not fit to carry. ... 


Lucifer for June, July, and August, 1891, contains a 
great number of articles on H.P.B. by leading members 
of the Society. These articles were reprinted in a vol- 
ume entitled ‘‘H.P.B., In Memoriam by Some of Her 
Pupils.’’ Like the proceedings of the Council of the 
Esoteric Section and those of the European Convention, 
these articles breathe the best and purest spirit, for 
they betoken the renaissance for the time of the grati- 
tude, the loyalty, the reverence felt for H.P.B. Jeal- 
ousies, ambitions, vanities, misunderstandings of all kinds 
were for the moment dormant. It was as if, for the time 
being, her freed spirit enveloped them all, putting all 
lesser feelings aside and lending to each and all some 
measure of the inspiration which for so many years had 
burned in her with an unwavering flame. 

The quoted matter will make clear and convincing the 
fact that in the period immediately following the death 
of H.P.B., all elements in the Society felt deeply the 
impulse of that Brotherhood which it was H.P.B.’s 
mission and the work of the Society to teach and prac- 
tice. Certainly no one can read the Minutes of the 
Hi.S. Conference, the Report of the European Conven- 
tion, and the memorial articles on H.P.B. without being 
struck by the unanimous recognition of the mission of 
H.P.B. and by the solemn declarations and pledges made 
to carry on the work of the Society on the lines laid 
down by her, with the material left by her, and with her 


308 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


example ever before them as that of a still living and 
guiding Teacher. 

After the Convention, then, the workers scattered, each 
to his own field of labor. Mrs. Besant took entire charge 
of the conduct of Lucifer, with Mr. G. R. S. Mead asso- 
ciated with her as Sub-Editor. She herself plunged into 
incessant activities, writing, lecturing, encouraging and 
inspiring all those who surrounded her to an energy and 
devotion second only to her own. This as to the public 
work of the exoteric Soeiety. Within the ranks of the 
Esoteric Section she was not less earnest and untiring. 
As Co-Head of the Section with Mr. Judge, practically 
the entire interests of the School in Britain, on the Con- 
tinent, and in the Orient were in her care. Her reputa- 
tion, gained before her entrance into the Theosophical 
world, made of her a constant subject of newspaper com- 
ment, and her presence at any meeting was enough to 
attract a large audience. ‘Theosophical activities and 
growth doubled and tripled in England under her influ- 
ence and example, and its secondary benefit throughout 
the world was felt by every worker in every land. 
Wherever her name was mentioned, Theosophy was 
equally the subject of discussion. Wherever Theosophy 
was spoken of, Annie Besant was naturally looked 
upon as its unequaled exponent and she was hailed by 
members and outsiders alike as the great and worthy 
successor of H.P.B. 

Mr. Judge returned to America and resumed the ac- 
tive conduct of his magazine, The Path. The work of 
the American Section, of which he was continuously from 
its organization the General Secretary, made heavy in- 
roads upon his time and energies. The active American 
membership in the T.S. was at that time larger than in 
all the rest of the world, and growing rapidly. The 
American membership in the Esoteric Section comprised 
two-thirds of the entire body and called for unceasing 
and difficult attention. Next to H.P.B., Mr. Judge’s 
personal correspondence with members throughout the 
world was by far the heaviest. His health had been 
undermined by the drain of recent years and by the re- 


ATTEMPTS TO SUPERSEDE H.P.B. 309 


lentless and sustained attacks and antagonisms without 
and within the Society with himself as their object 
along with H.P.B. The good-will and good feeling 
reached during the London conferences, the apparent 
healing of all distempers within the Society, the fresh 
alliance of all the forces in the common object of carry- 
ing on the work on the lines established by H.P.B.— 
all these gave him new vigor and a strength sufficient for 
his increased burdens. 

Colonel Olcott, now past sixty, patriarchal in appear- 
ance, cordial by nature, looked upon with the utmost 
respect and reverence by the rank and file of the mem- 
bership as being the President-Founder of the Society, 
the earliest as the lifelong colleague of H.P.B., and the 
one chosen by the Masters as Head of the Society, might 
be said to have had his cup of glory full at this epoch. 
His journey had restored his physical health; the recep- 
tion accorded him at London had reassured him as to 
the solid place he held in the affections of the member- 
ship in the Occident as in the Orient; the pledges of devo- 
tion by all the Western leaders in the Society to H.P.B., 
to the Cause, to his beloved Society, and to him per- 
sonally, had brought out all that was generous, genial, 
and optimistic in his nature. He could see everywhere 
the work to which he had given his all through long 
years of hardship, often of ignominy, now sustained by 
able and devoted lieutenants, respected where it had 
once been despised, spoken of in flattering terms where 
once both it and himself had been received with con- 
tumely. Wherever he went he was the Chief. He de- 
termined to return to India by America, and his journey 
was broken from city to city by meetings at which he 
was the commanding figure. His entire journey during 
the months of his absence from Adyar was a kind of 
triumphal progress, strewn with testimonials of the love 
and gratitude of his colleagues and of the world-wide 
membership of the Society. Returned to India, his ar- 
rival was signalized by the Indian members in a manner 
not less warmly appreciative of his services. 

In December, 1890, while H.P.B. lay between life and 


310 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


death, Mrs. Besant had published on her own motion, 
and without the knowledge of H.P.B., a ringing article 
in Lucifer entitled ‘‘The Theosophical Society and 
H.P.B.’’ The occasion for this article was the private 
propaganda that was diligently being promoted in dero- 
gation of H.P.B. by adherents of Col. Olcott and Mr. 
Sinnett for her action in taking over the Headship 
of the newly formed Theosophical Society in Europe. 
In this article Mrs. Besant wrote with great force and 
conviction in support of the following numbered propo- 
sitions which she italicized in her article: 


Now touching the position of H.P.B. to and 
in the Theosophical Society, the following is a 
brief exposition of it, as it appears to many 
of us: 

(1) Hither she is a messenger from the Mas- 
ters, or else she 1s a fraud. 

(2) In either case the Theosophical Society 
would have had no existence without her. 

(3) If she 1s a fraud, she is a woman of won- 
derful ability and learning, giving all the credit 
of these to some persons who do not exist. 

(4) If H.P.B. is a true messenger, opposition 
to her is opposition to Masters, she being their 
only channel to the Western World. 

(5) If there are no Masters, the Theosophical 
Society is an absurdity, and there is no use in 
keeping it up. But if there are Masters, and 
H.P.B. is their messenger, and the Theosophical 
Society their foundation, the Theosophical So- 
ciety and H.P.B. cannot be separated before 
the world. 


Having thus advanced her theorems and worked them 
out to a satisfactory Q.H.D., Mrs. Besant’s article closed 
with the inevitable corollary from her demonstration: 


. . . [f the members care at all for the future 
of the Society, if they wish to know that the 
Twentieth Century will see it standing high 


ATTEMPTS TO SUPERSEDE H.P.B. 311 


above the strife of parties, a beacon-light in the 
darkness for the guiding of men, if they believe 
in the Teacher who founded it for human service, 
let them now arouse themselves from slothful in- 
difference, sternly silence all dissensions over 
petty follies in their ranks, and march shoulder 
to shoulder for the achievement of the heavy task 
laid upon their strength and courage. If The- 
osophy is worth anything, it is worth living for 
and worth dying for. If it is worth nothing let 
it go at once and for all. It is not a thing to 
play with, it is not a thing to trifle with... 
let each Theosophist, and above all, let each Oc- 
eultist, calmly review his position, carefully 
make his choice, and if that choice be for The- 
osophy, let him sternly determine that neither 
open foe nor treacherous friends shall shake his 
loyalty for all time to come to his great Cause 
and Leader, which twain are one. 


Such a proclamation as this, coming from one who 
was, in the eyes of the world, even more than in the 
Society, the foremost power in the movement next to 
H.P.B. herself, could but align the ranks and silence, 
for the time being, all covert as well as open belittling 
oLe Hale: 

After the death of H.P.B., as the no less clear proc- 
lamation in the E.S. circular became common knowl- 
edge throughout the Society, the determination of the 
Council, of Mr. Judge and Mrs. Besant, to follow strictly 
the aims and lines and teachings of H.P.B., produced 
such a revival of activity, such an exhibition of common 
Brotherhood and loyalty to the First Object and, no 
less, to H.P.B. as the Teacher, as had never been wit- 
nessed during her lifetime. Followed the Convention 
of the British and European Sections with their re- 
newed asseverations, and the many articles breathing the 
most profound respect and devotion to H.P.B. and her 
mission from the lips of every well-known Theosophist. 

On August 30, 1891, Mrs. Besant bade farewell to the 


312 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


Secularists with whom, in collaboration with Mr. Charles 
Bradlaugh, she had labored for so many years. Her 
address was entitled ‘‘1875 to 1891: A Fragment of 
Autobiography.’’ This memorable speech was circulated 
far and wide. After recounting her fifteen years of 
battle:and achievement, her hard-won steps of progress 
to her conversion to Theosophy through her reviewing 
the ‘‘Secret Doctrine,’ her meeting with H.P.B., her 
examination of the famous S.P.R. Report with its 
charges of fraud against H.P.B., Mrs. Besant astounded 
the meeting, the world, and the members of the Theo- 
sophical Society with this bold and categorical statement: 


You have known me in this hall for sixteen 
and a half years. You have never known me to 
lie to you. My worst public enemy, through the 
whole of my life, never cast a slur upon my in- 
tegrity. Hverything else they have sullied, but 
my truth never; and I tell you that since 
Madame Blavatsky left, I have had letters in the 
same writing and from the same person [as the 
writer of the disputed ‘‘Mahatma’’ letters al- 
leged in the 8.P.R. Report to have been writ- 
ten by H.P.B.]. Unless you think that dead per- 
sons write—and I do not think so—that is rather 
a curious fact against the whole challenge of 
fraud. I do not ask you to believe me, but I tell 
you this on the faith of a record that has never 
yet been sullied by a conscious lie. Those who 
knew her, knew that she could not very well 
commit fraud, if she tried. She was the frank- 
est of human beings. It may be said, ‘‘ What evi- 
dence have you beside hers???’ My own knowl- 
edge. For some time, all the evidence I had of 
the existence of her Teachers and the existence 
of those so-called ‘‘abnormal powers’’ was sec- 
ond-hand, gained through her. It is not so now; 
and it has not been so for many months; unless 
every sense can be at the same time deceived, un- 
less a person can be, at the same moment, sane 


ATTEMPTS TO SUPERSEDE H.P.B. 313 


and insane, I have exactly the same certainty for 
the truth of those statements as I have for the 
fact that you are here. Of course you may be all 
delusions invented by myself and manufactured 
by my own brain. I refuse—merely because ig- 
norant people shout fraud and trickery—to be 
false to all the knowledge of my intellect, the per- 
ceptions of my senses, and my reasoning facul- 
ties as well. 


Lucifer for October, 1891, contained another unequivo- 
cal declaration by Mrs. Besant in its leading article, 
‘<Theosophy and Christianity.’’ She says: 


... THEoSopHY is a body of knowledge, 
clearly and distinctly formulated in part and 
proclaimed to the world. Members of the So- 
ciety may or may not be students of this knowl- 
edge, but none the less is it the sure foundation 
on which the Masrers have built the Society, and 
on which its central teaching of the Brother- 
hood of Man is based. Without Theosophy Uni- 
versal Brotherhood may be proclaimed as an 
Ideal, but it cannot be demonstrated as a 
Raet tau. 

Now by Theosophy I mean the ‘‘Wisdom Re- 
ligion,’’ or the ‘‘Secret Doctrine,’’ and our 
only knowledge of the Wisdom Religion at the 
present time comes to us from the Messenger of 
its Custodians, H. P. Bhavatsxky. Knowing what 
she taught, we can recognise fragments of the 
same teachings in other writings, but her mes- 
sage remains for us the test of Theosophy every- 
where. .. . Only, none of us has any right to 
put forward his own views as ‘‘Theosophy’’ in 
conflict with hers, for all that we know of The- 
osophy comes from her. When she says ‘‘The 
Secret Doctrine teaches,’’ none can say her nay; 
we may disagree with the teaching, but it re- 
mains ‘‘the Secret Doctrine,’’ or Theosophy; 


314 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


she always encouraged independent thought 
and criticism, and never resented differences 
of opinion, but she never wavered in the distinct 
proclamation ‘‘The Secret Doctrine is’’ so- 
and-so.... 

Theosophists have it in charge not to whittle 
away the Secret Doctrine. . . . Steadily, calmly, 
without anger but also without fear, they must 
stand by the Secret Doctrine as she gave it, 
who carried unflinchingly through the storms 
of well-nigh seventeen years the torch of the 
Eastern Wisdom. The condition of success is 
perfect loyalty. ... 


It must be evident to any student that these several 
proclamations referred alike to those within and with- 
out the Society, of high and low degree, who found it 
to their interest to belittle or calumniate H.P.B. In 
the months following the death of H.P.B. the natural 
impulse of gratitude on the part of the rank and file 
of the membership toward H.P.B. received an accession, 
a countenance, and a support from Mrs. Besant’s affirma- 
tions of the status of H.P.B. and bold defiance of 
‘treacherous friends’’ within the Society, that effectually 
put in prudent silence those who before had belittled 
publicly and privately the authoritative character of 
H.P.B. as the Messenger of the Masters. 

But after Col. Olcott’s tour and return to India it 
is clear that the testimonials he had received of the re- 
spect accorded to him and his position of President- 
Founder gave him a re-inforced feeling of security and 
strength. Likewise, from his past conduct, it is evident 
he had expected that with the death of H.P.B. she 
would no longer remain a living power in the Society. 
That part of his nature which so often had risen in re- 
bellion against H.P.B. living, as the dominant factor 
in the Society of which he felt himself the true and com- 
petent Head, once more became restive, alarmed, and 
decisive of his action. What the inner councils of his 
thoughts and what the outcome are clearly discernible 


ATTEMPTS TO SUPERSEDE H.P.B. 315 


in his Address to the ‘‘Seventeenth Convention and An- 
niversary of the Theosophical Society, at the Headquar- 
ters, Adyar, Madras,’’ India, at the end of December, 
1891. The Address is contained in full in the Report of 
the Convention; also issued as a ‘‘Supplement’’ to The 
Theosophist for January, 1892. We quote the germane 
remarks: 


As the Co-Founder of the Society, as one who 
has had constant opportunities for knowing the 
chosen policy and wishes of the Masters, as one 
who has, under them and with their assent, borne 
our flag through sixteen years of battle, I pro- 
test against the first giving way to the tempta- 
tion to elevate either them, their agents, or any 
other living or dead personage, to the divine 
status, or their teachings to that of infallible 
doctrine. ... 

If she had lived, she would have undoubtedly 
left her protest against her friends making a 
saint of her or a bible out of her magnificent, 
though not infallible writings. I helped to com- 
pile her ‘‘Isis Unveiled’? while Mr. Keightley 
and several others did the same by ‘‘The Secret 
Doctrine.’’ Surely we know how far from in- 
fallible are our portions of the books, to say 
nothing about hers. She did not discover, nor 
invent Theosophy, nor was she the first or the 
ablest agent, scribe or messenger of the Hidden 
Teachers of the Snowy Mountains. The various 
scriptures of the ancient nations contain every 
idea now put forth, and in some cases possess 
far greater beauties and merits than any of her 
or our books. We need not fall into idolatry to 
signify our lasting reverence and love for her, 
the contemporary teacher, nor offend the liter- 
ary world by pretending that she wrote with the 
pen of inspiration. Nobody living was a more 
staunch and loyal friend of hers than I, nobody 
will cherish her memory more lovingly. I was 


316 


To complete the picture as limned in the preceding 
extracts and comments, one may turn to the published 
statements of Mr. Judge during the same period. In 
The Path, for June, 1891, he sounded the following note 


THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


true to her to the end of her life, and now I 
shall continue to be true to her memory. But I 
never worshipped her, never blinded my eyes to 
her faults, never dreamt that she was as perfect 
a channel for the transmission of occult teach- 
ing as some others in history have been, or as 
the Masters would have been glad to have found. 
As her tried friend, then, as one who worked 
most intimately with her, and is most anxious 
that she may be taken by posterity at her true 
high value; as her co-worker; as one long ago 
accepted, though humble, agent of the Masters; 
and finally, as the official head of the Society 
and guardian of the personal rights of its Fel- 
lows, I place on record my protest against all at- 
tempts to create an H.P.B. school, sect or cult, 
or to take her utterances as in the least degree 
above criticism. The importance of the subject 
must be my excuse for thus dwelling upon it at 
some length. I single out no individuals, mean 
to hurt nobody’s feelings. Jam not sure of being 
alive very many years longer, and what duty 
demands I must say while I can. 


of mingled confidence, caution, and advice: 


The death of H. P. Blavatsky should have the 
effect on the Society of making the work go on 
with increased vigor free from all personalities. 
The movement was not started for the glory of 
any person, but for the elevation of Mankind. 
The organization is not affected as such by her 
death for her official positions were those of 
Corresponding Secretary and President of the 
Kuropean Section. The Constitution has long 
provided that after her death the office of Corre- 


ATTEMPTS TO SUPERSEDE H.P.B. 317 


sponding Secretary should not be filled. The 
vacancy in the European Section will be filled 
by election in that Section, as that is matter with 
which only the Kuropean Branches have to deal. 
She held no position in the exoteric American 
Section, and had no jurisdiction over it in any 
way. Hence there is no vacancy to fill and no 
disturbance to be felt in the purely corporate 
part of the American work. The work here is 
going on as it always has done, under the efforts 
of its members who now will draw their inspira- 
tion from the books and works of H.P.B. and 
from the purity of their own motive. 

All that the Society needs now to make it the 
great power it was intended to be is first, 
solidarity, and second, Theosophical education. 
These are wholly in the hands of its members. 
The first gives that resistless strength which is 
found only in Union, the second gives that judg- 
ment and wisdom needed to properly direct 
energy and zeal. 

Read these words from H. P. Blavatsky’s Key 
to Theosophy. 


Then follow the quotations before referred to in the 
circular of the Esoteric Section from which we have 
quoted. In The Path for August, 1891, the leading arti- 
cle begins with this quotation: 


‘CINGRATITUDE IS NOT ONE OF OUR FAULTS.”’ 
WE ALWAYS HELP THOSE WHO HELP US. TACT, 
DISCRETION, AND ZEAL ARE MORE THAN EVER 
NEEDED. THE HUMBLEST WORKER IS SEEN AND 
HELPED. ... 


The text immediately following runs thus: 


To a student theosophist, serving whenever 
and however he could, there came very recently 
—since the departure from this plane of H. P. 
Blavatsky—these words of highest cheer from 


318 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


that Master of whom H. P. B. was the reverent 
pupil. Attested by His real signature and seal, 
they are given here for the encouragement and 
support of all those who serve the Theosophical 
Society—and through it, hamanity—as best they 
ean; given in the belief that it was not intended 
that the recipient should sequestrate or absorb 
them silently, but rather that he should under- 
stand them to be his only in the sense that he 
might share them with his comrades, that his was 
permitted to be the happy hand to pass them 
on as the common right, the universal benedic- 
tion of one and all. 


The article is signed ‘‘Jasper Niemand.’’ This pen 
name had by that time become known and loved through- 
out the Theosophical world as the recipient of the fa- 
mous ‘‘Letters That Have Helped Me’”’ from ‘‘Z. L. Z., 
the Greatest of the Exxiles,’’ originally published in The 
Path during the lifetime of H.P.B., and by many The- 
osophists then supposed to have been written by H.P.B. 
herself. Not till some years later was it made known 
that ‘‘Z. L. Z.’’ was Mr. Judge, and ‘‘Jasper Niemand”’ 
Mrs. Archibald Keightley (Julia Campbell-Ver Planck). 
The article from which we have been quoting was written 
and published during the absence of Mr. Judge in Eng- 
land following H.P.B.’s death, and without his knowl- 
edge, as Mrs. Keightley was in editorial conduct of The 
Path during Mr. Judge’s absence. The article, the mes- 
sage from the Masters with which it began, and the 
claim that the message had been received subsequent to 
the death of H.P.B., stirred Col. Olcott to the depths. 
He wrote to Mr. Judge about it in strong terms, as he 
saw in it nothing but an attempt to attract attention to 
H.P.B., Masters and Mr. Judge himself. Mr. Judge 
replied at length to Col. Oleott, and this letter was later 
published in Lucifer. As we shall have occasion later 
to refer to this correspondence,! no comment is necessary 
at this stage of our study. 

*See Chapter X XVI. 


ATTEMPTS TO SUPERSEDE H.P.B. 319 


Succeeding articles and notes in The Path gave atten- 
tion to Col. Olcott’s place in the T.S. with respect and 
loyalty ; noted Mrs. Besant’s claim to the receipt of mes- 
sages subsequent to H.P.B.’s death; and in January, 
1892, had for its leading article ‘‘Dogmatism in The- 
osophy.’’ This article was written partly to make clear 
the real position to be assumed by all Theosophists, 
partly to moderate the intemperate zeal of some en- 
thusiasts who were wont to quote H.P.B. to ‘‘put a 
quietus’’ on their opponents whose views of H.P.B. 
or her teachings were not the same as their own; partly 
as an open declaration of Mr. Judge’s own attitude, in 
response to Col. Oleott’s criticisms and public state- 
ments. We quote from ‘‘Dogmatism in Theosophy’’: 


The Theosophical Society was founded to de- 
stroy dogmatism. This is one of the meanings 
of its first object—Universal Brotherhood... . 

In the Key to Theosophy, in the ‘‘Concelu- 
sion,’’ H.P.B. again refers to this subject and 
expresses the hope that the Society might not, 
after her death, become dogmatic or crystallize 
on some phase of thought or philosophy, but that 
it might remain free and open, with its mem- 
bers wise and unselfish. And in all her writings 
and remarks, privately or publicly, she con- 
stantly reiterated this idea... . 

If our effort is to succeed, we must avoid dog- 
matism in theosophy as much as in anything else, 
for the moment we dogmatise and insist on our 
construction of theosophy, that moment we lose 
sight of Universal Brotherhood and sow the 
seeds of future trouble. 

... Even though nine-tenths of the members 
believe in Reincarnation, Karma, the seven-fold 
constitution, and all the rest, and even though 
its prominent ones are engaged in promulgating 
these doctrines as well as others, the ranks of 
the Society must always be kept open, and no 
one should be told that he is not orthodox or not 


320 


THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


a good Theosophist because he does not believe 
in these doctrines. ... 

But at the same time it is obvious that to enter 
the Society and then, under our plea of tol- 
erance, assert that theosophy shall not be 
studied, .. . shall not be investigated, is un- 
theosophical, unpractical, and absurd, for it 
were to nullify the very object of our 
organization. ... 

And as the great body of philosophy, science, 
and ethics offered by H. P. Blavatsky and her 
teachers has upon it the seal of research, of 
reasonableness, of antiquity, and of wisdom, it 
demands our first and best consideration. .. . 

So, then, a member of the Society, no matter 
how high or how low his or her position in its 
ranks, has the right to promulgate all the phil- 
osophical and ethical ideas found in our liter- 
ature to the best ability possessed, and no one 
else has the right to object, provided such pro- 
mulgation is accompanied by a clear statement 
that it is not authorized or made orthodox by 
any declaration from the body corporate of the 


CHAPTER XxXI 
GROWING DIVERGENCES—OLCOTT RESIGNS AS PRESIDENT 


Tuus the real issue—the Theosophical Movement 
versus the Theosophical Society—once more became the 
wager of battle within less than a year after the death 
of H. P. Blavatsky. Doubtless this view will come as a 
shock to very many Theosophical students who have been 
educated to the belief that some particular organization 
is the Theosophical Society and who have therefore taken 
Theosophy, the Theosophical Movement, and their par- 
ticular Society to be essentially one and the same thing. 
They do not see that this is the very pitfall into which 
the different Christian sects have fallen, and has come 
about in the same way—through biased and partisan 
guidance on the part of those whom they have trusted 
as teachers and leaders, and through their own failure 
to make diligent, open-minded investigation and com- 
parison of the opposing and contradictory teachings and 
testimony. 

Altruism was the self-imposed standard of action for 
all Fellows of the Theosophical Society, altruism and 
spiritual knowledge the self-pledged criterion of every 
Probationer of the Esoteric Section. HEvery Fellow of 
the T.S. must therefore be studied in his conduct, not 
by the sins of omission or of commission of his fellows, 
but in the light of his own devotion to the great First 
Object of the Society. Every Probationer of the Hso- 
teric Section must be weighed in the balance, not of his 
rank, standing, or reputation in the world or in the So- 
ciety, but in the light of his solemn declaration: ‘‘I 
pledge myself to endeavour to make Theosophy a living 
power in my life.’’ The formulation of the Objects of 
the Society was so definite and inclusive that no man 
can err as to what those Objects mean. 

321 


$22 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


When The Theosophst for January, 1892, with its 
report of the Adyar Convention just held, reached Amer- 
ica Mr. Judge published in his magazine The Path for 
March, 1892, three articles of momentous import. The 
importance which the world-wide membership must nec- 
essarily attach to Col. Olcott’s proclamation, because of 
his position as President of the whole Society; because 
of his known long-continued and intimate relations with 
H.P.B., and because of the reverence and respect in 
which he was held as President-Founder, compelled con- 
sideration. The first article is entitled ‘‘The Future and 
the Theosophical Society,’’ and begins abruptly: 


In 1888 H. P. Blavatsky wrote: 

Night before last I was shown a bird’s- 
eye view of the theosophical societies. I saw 
a few earnest reliable theosophists in a death 
struggle with the world in general and with 
other—nominal and ambitious—theosophists. 
The former are greater in number than you 
may think, and they prevaled—as you in 
America will prevail, if you only remain 
staunch to the Master’s programme and true 
to yourselves. And last night I saw. . . . The 
defending forces have to be judiciously—so 
scanty are they—distributed over the globe 
wherever theosophy is struggling with the 
powers of darkness. 


The article follows this with another quotation from 
the ‘‘Key to Theosophy,’’ the section entitled ‘‘The Fu- 
ture of the Theosophical Society,’’ to which we have 
before referred, and continues: 


Kivery member of the Society should be, and 
many are, deeply interested in the above words. 
The outlook, the difficulties, the dangers, the ne- 
cessities are the same now as then, and as they 
were in the beginning in 1875. For, as she has 
often said, this is not the first nor will it be the 
last effort to spread the truth and to undertake 


GROWING DIVERGENCES 328 


the same mission .. . to lead men to look for 
the one truth that underlies all religions and 
which alone can guide science in the direction of 
ideal progress. In every century such attempts 
are made, and many of them have been actually 
named ‘‘theosophical.’’ Hach time they have to 
be adapted to the era in which they appear. And 
this is the era . . . of freedom for thought and 
for investigation. 

In the first quotation there is a prophecy that 
those few reliable theosophists who are en- 
gaged in a struggle with the opposition of the 
world and that coming from weak or ambitious 
members will prevail, but it has annexed to tt a 
condition that is of importance. There must be 
an adherence to the program of the Masters. 
That can only be ascertaimed by consulting her 
and the letters given out by her as from those 
to whom she refers. It excludes the idea that 
the Socmety was founded or is mtended as ‘‘a 
School for Occultism!’’ 3 

Referring to a letter received (1884) from 
the same source we find: ‘‘ Let the Society flour- 
ish on its moral worth, and not by phenomena 
made so often degrading.’’ The need of the west 
for such doctrines as Karma and Reincarnation 
and the actual Unity of the whole human family 
is dwelt upon at length in another... 

This is the great tone running through all the 
words from these sources. It is a call to work 
for the race and not for self, a request to bring 
the west and the east the doctrines that have 
most effect on human conduct, on the relations 
of man to man, and hence the greatest possibility 
of forming at last a true universal brotherhood. 
We must follow this program and supply the 
world with a system of philosophy which gies 
a sure and logical basis for ethics, and that can 
only be gotten from those to whom I have ad- 


*The italics in this quotation are our own. 


324 


Mr. Judge goes on to say that these things must be 
done, not only as an example to the world, but because 
as an Occult and scientific fact unity of action gives a 
He calls attention to what has already 
been achieved in modifying the thought of the day, by 
bringing Theosophy to the front of thought and notice, 
despite all oppositions without and within, but warns 
the members against the futility of hoping to enlist the 
co-operation of the churches in the attempt to destroy 


ten-fold power. 


THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


verted; there is no basis for morals im ‘phe- 
nomena, because a man might learn to do the 
most wonderful things by the aid of occult forces 
and yet at the same time be the very worst of 
men. 

A subsidiary condition, but quite as important 
as the other, is laid down by H.P.B. in her 
words that we must ‘‘remain true to ourselves.’’ 
This means true to our better selves and the dic- 
tates of conscience. We cannot promulgate the 
doctrines and the rules of life found iw theoso- 
phy and at the same time ourselves not lve up 
to them as far as possible. We must practice 
what we preach, and make as far as we can @ 
small brothzrhood withn the Theosophical 
Society. 


priestcraft and dogmatism. . The article concludes: 


Our destiny is to continue the wide work of the 
past in affecting literature and thought through- 
out the world, while our ranks see many chang- 
ing quantities but always holding those who re- 
main true to the program and refuse to become 
dogmatic or to give up commonsense in theoso- 
phy. Thus will we wait for the new messenger, 
striving to keep the organization alive that he 
may use it and have the great opportunity 
H.P.B. outlines when she says, ‘‘Think how 
much one to whom such an opportunity is given 
could accomplish.”’ 


GROWING DIVERGENCES 325 


The second of the articles referred to is a review of 
the Proceedings of the Adyar Convention. Kindly con- 
sideration is given to Col. Olcott and his labors, and 
occasion is taken to speak with generous warmth of 
Mrs. Besant and her potentialities for good in the So- 
ciety. Attention is paid to the Colonel’s remarks on 
H.P.B. in his Presidential Address. Mr. Judge’s com- 
ments follow: 


[Col. Olcott] indulges in some remarks as to 
the grave error he and H.P.B. made, as he 
thinks, in being intolerant towards Christianity. 
Those who have carefully read her writings and 
have known her as well as Col. Olcott know 
that there has been very little intolerance from 
our side, but that there has been, as there al- 
ways will be, a constant irritation on the part 
of dogmatists who perceive that the pure light 
of theosophy makes dogmatism see its death- 
warrant very visibly before its eyes. Neither 
H.P.B. nor Col. Olcott, nor any one else in the 
Society who has understood its mission, can sup- 
pose there has been any intolerance of true 
Christianity, as that is confined in any city to a 
small number of persons. 

Col. Oleott also said that he did not believe 
H.P.B. thought she was going to die, and that 
in his opinion her death was a surprise to her. 
With this we cannot agree in the least. He had 
not been with her for some time and did not 
know of the many warnings she had been lately 
giving to all her immediate friends, including 
the Editor of this magazine, of her approaching 
demise. In some cases the notice she gave was 
very detailed, in others it was by question, by 
symbolical language, and by hint, but for the 
year or more before her death she let those who 
were close to her know that she was soon to go, 
and in one case, when a certain event happened, 
she said, ‘‘That means my death.’’ We have 


326 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


great respect for Col. Olcott, but cannot agree 
with him in this matter. . 

... Further, in speaking of a tendency he 
saw on the part of some to dogmatise on H.P.B., 
Col. Olcott paid her a tribute and at the same 
time said there ought to be no idolatry; but 
while he was right in that, yet at the same time 
the very Masters of whom he spoke, and from 
whom he heard through H.P.B., said in a letter 
that has long been published that H.P.B. had 
everything to do with the occult department of 
the work of the members of the Society. This 
must not be forgotten. 


The third of the articles mentioned came with the 
shock of a complete surprise to all but a handful. Its 
consequences were so far-reaching, exoterically and 
esoterically, that we give it in full herewith, as it is 
probable that few, if any, Theosophists of the present 
day know even the bald facts as publicly disclosed. The 
article is entitled ‘‘Resignation of Presidency T.S. by 
Col. Olcott,’’ and its text is as follows: 


The following correspondence sufficiently ex- 
plains itself. It is inserted here in order that 
American members generally may be in posses- 
sion of the information. It will be remembered 
that Col. Olcott determined to resign some time 
ago, but was induced to alter his decision and to 
take a vacation in order to restore his health, but 
although the rest did him good we were all sorry 
to see, even so lately as when he visited America 
in 1891, that traces of old trouble remained, 
and at the 16th Annual Convention, [the 
one just held] he again said that he could not 
do the work he used to do. So, feeling that the 
Society is firmly established, he now resigns of- 
ficial position. He will continue to reside in 
India and do literary work for the Society’s 
benefit, and no doubt will aid his successor very 


GROWING DIVERGENCES 327 


much in placing the Adyar Oriental Library on 
a better footing than ever. At the April Con- 
vention [of the American Section] in Chicago 
resolutions will probably be passed upon the 
matter, and will include the expression of our 
high appreciation of his long services. By some 
it is proposed to suggest at that meeting that 
the American Section desires him to have at 
Adyar a free life-residence. This would be 
fitting. 


This is followed by the text of the two letters men- 
tioned—the first from Col. Olcott as President to Mr. 
Judge as Vice-President, and dated at Adyar, January 
21,1892. In his letter Col. Olcott gives as his reason for 
the present, as for the two former occasions when he 
had expressed the wish to retire, the state of his health, 
and adds that he has now ‘‘obtained permission to carry 
out the wish.’’ The two former occasions were his ex- 
pressions at the Adyar Convention at the close of 1885 
(not 1886, as he gives it in his letter), and again in 1890. 
While the statements made of his impaired health were 
true in all three cases, in none of them was it the real 
underlying reason. The first time was because of the 
strong reaction in India against the treatment accorded 
H.P.B. during the Coulomb troubles and afterward. 
Although all had shared in the timid and disloyal course 
adopted, the resentment shown against Col. Olcott by 
those who had before been his advisers and supporters, 
was unjust in that it was an attempt to make him the 
scapegoat of atonement for the common sin. It was due 
to the privately exercised influence of H.P.B. and Mr. 
Judge and their loyal friends that the Convention re- 
fused to accept Col. Olcott’s resignation and reiterated 
its gratitude and loyalty to him in his onerous position 
of President of the whole Society. And again, in 1890, 
his desire to resign was due in fact to the rebellion in 
England and Europe which culminated in a revolution 
—H.P.B. taking over, at the almost unanimous request 
and insistence of the various Lodges and unattached Fel- 


328 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


lows, the Presidency of the Theosophical Society in 
Europe. Seeing Europe lost to his authority, and 
America emancipated from his ‘‘exercise of Presidential 
powers,’’ with all the more important and devoted West- 
ern Fellows members of the Esoteric Section pledged to 
follow the instructions of H.P.B. in all Theosophical 
relations, Col. Olcott had experienced all that bitterness 
of heart which must come to those who, having exercised 
plenary powers, now find themselves reduced to the posi- 
tion of a figurehead. Justly feeling that he had given 
his all to the Society and that during his long years of 
‘‘naternal authority’’ he had done his best for the chil- 
dren dear to his heart, Col. Olcott, like all zealous-hearted 
but proud and sensitive soldiers, was moved to resign 
rather than to resignation. On this second occasion, 
as on the first, H.P.B. and Mr. Judge, had shown the 
kind of loyalty which animated them. Loyalty to the 
Cause had compelled them to hold true to the lines laid 
down from the beginning, at whatever cost of misunder- 
standing or risk of rupture to external machinery or re- 
lations; loyalty to Col. Olcott, the struggling probationer 
who had earned help in his hour of need by his devoted 
efforts and sacrifices, whose heart was still true, what- 
ever his mental and psychic errancies and personal flux 
of feelings in regard to themselves—this principle of 
true Occultism had caused them to make every effort to 
soothe the President-Founder’s ruffled vanity, to sweeten 
the bitter pill of his acceptance of the changes enforced 
by the necessities of the occasion. And they had suc- 
ceeded, for Col. Olcott accepted the new status of affairs 
with the best grace he could muster and went on with 
his part of the work—a part which they knew he had 
performed and could still perform, better than any man 
living. 

But if Col. Oleott had suffered on the two former oc- 
casions, the iron which had now entered his heart and 
driven him once more to ‘‘resign’’ was a thousand times 
more poignant, it was a veritable crucifixion of his per- 
sonal nature, coupled with a sense of injustice which 
was unendurable; hence his ‘‘resignation.’’ 


GROWING DIVERGENCES 329 


The hidden facts behind this resignation have never 
to this day been disclosed. The only direct public refer- 
ences to the real cause of Col. Olcott’s resignation are 
to be found in a letter addressed by Mr. Herbert Bur- 
rows to the editor of The English Theosophst, and pub- 
lished in that magazine for November, 1895; in the edi- 
torial article in the same magazine for December, 1895, 
entitled ‘‘The Resignation Mystery, 1892,’’ and in the 
extremely reticent and guarded statement by Mr. Judge 
in the pamphlet issued in April, 1895. None of these 
references does more than to indicate that other reasons 
than ill health lay at the bottom of the President-Found- 
er’s sudden determination to ‘‘resign.”’ 

While Col. Olcott was at London in the summer of 
1891, following H.P.B.’s death, he was a guest in the 
house of Miss F. Henrietta Muller. This lady, well-to-do, 
well-educated, moving in the best classes of society, was 
an ‘‘eccentric’’ at a time when things now commonplaces 
of everyday life were accounted marked if not reprehen- 
sible ‘‘eccentricities.’”’? She advocated the ‘‘equality of 
the sexes’’; she was an ardent ‘‘suffragist’’; she pro- 
claimed her views on any and all subjects with entire 
freedom of expression; she lived according to her own 
ideas of propriety and decorum. In other words she was, 
according to her lights, an independent and _ honest 
woman. No breath or taint of scandal attached to her 
name. She had become a member of the Theosophical 
Society and was as active and ardent an exponent of her 
views in this relation as on all others. | 

Colonel Olcott, of a personal nature not dissimilar to 
her own, enjoyed her hospitality and her companion- 
ship. Moreover, his heart, heavy over the perception 
of all that was involved in the death of H.P.B., had been 
lightened by the reception accorded him by his associates, 
by the new harmony and unity arrived at during the 
period of the first Convention of the European Section. 
His physical health rebounded to the changed environ- 
ment and his mental and moral health no less. He con- 
ducted himself toward all with that frankness, that bon- 
homie and naiveté, that mixture of child and man of the 


330 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


world, which was his enduring personal charm. He 
traveled Britain, visited Sweden, and returned to India 
via America, Japan, and Ceylon, receiving everywhere 
a heartfelt reception and attention. Once in India, his 
long-time hold upon the affections of the members was 
manifested by a thousand spontaneous incidents. He 
must have felt himself, as he had never felt during the 
lifetime of H.P.B., the chief figure in the Society and 
in the confidence of its world-wide membership. Then 
came the Adyar Convention and the reassertion of his 
old self-confident, self-complacent nature in his con- 
descending and corrective remarks on the ‘‘worship’’ of 
H.P.B. and his delineation of her nature and place in 
the work while living. 

What, then, was the shock which followed, each stu- 
dent must imagine for himself, but its intensity can be 
briefly indicated by the recital of the dramatic elements 
supplied by the fact as follows. Colonel Olcott had 
visioned in Mrs. Besant a worthy ‘‘successor’’ to H.P.B., 
a successor with whom he could work in full harmony 
and mutuality of understanding, as he had never been 
able to do with H.P.B. herself. He had besought her 
to come to India, and Mr. Bertram Keightley, then in 
India and acting as General Secretary of the Indian Sec- 
tion and as Col. Oleott’s chief aid, had formally seconded 
this desire on the part of the Indian Section and opened 
a subscription to pay the expenses of the hoped-for tour. 
Yielding to these solicitations Mrs. Besant had agreed 
to visit India and deliver a number of lectures. Just 
prior to the time of her expected departure announcement 
was made that Mrs. Besant was suffering from the ex- 
haustion due to a prolonged period of overwork, was 
threatened with a collapse, and that her physician had 
ordered a sea voyage and a brief period of complete 
relaxation to restore her. This also was all true enough, 
but in fact Mrs. Besant took her ‘‘sea voyage’’ to New 
York and return, and delivered a number of lectures in 
the United States, in place of Adyar and India. No one 
seems to have questioned the sudden change of plans, or 
the incongruity between the prescribed relaxation and 


GROWING DIVERGENCES 331 


the strenuous activities of her brief stay in America. 
What had happened was this: Charges of ‘‘grave im- 
morality’’—to quote Mr. Herbert Burrows’ words—had 
been made to Mrs. Besant in England against Col. Ol- 
eott for his conduct while in London. Mrs. Besant had 
listened to these accusations, had investigated them ac- 
cording to her own ideas of what constitutes an investi- 
gation, until she also became convinced that the charges 
were true. She had cabled Mr. Judge demanding im- 
mediate action on his part as Vice-President of the whole 
Society for its purification and protection. Mr. Judge 
replied suggesting it would be well for Mrs. Besant to 
come to America with the evidence. Accordingly Mrs. 
Besant sailed for New York, reaching there November 
27, 1891, and departing December 9, giving four public 
lectures, two in New York, one in Philadelphia, and one 
in Fort Wayne, Indiana, besides an address to the mem- 
bers of the Aryan Society and a talk to a private meet- 
ing of members of the E.S. She recounted to Mr. Judge 
circumstantially and in detail the charge and the evi- 
dence to which she and Miss Muller were parties and 
demanded of Mr. Judge as Vice-President of the So- 
ciety and her Co-Head in the Esoteric Section that he 
forthwith require of Col. Olcott his resignation. 

Mr. Judge cross-questioned her as to the facts and 
her knowledge of them. Then he called in Mr. E. August 
Neresheimer to whom he had Mrs. Besant repeat the 
charge and her statements of the evidence. He did the 
same with another friend and associate whose name it 
is not necessary to mention. To both of these Mrs. 
Besant repeated in detail and with particularity the facts 
of which she claimed to be possessed. To both of these 
Mrs. Besant repeated and reaffirmed her demand for 
instant action. Mr. Judge thereupon wrote a letter to 
Col. Olcott, not as Vice-President, but as an old friend, 
and in this letter advised Col. Olcott of the charge made 
and the evidence alleged to substantiate it, and suggested 
to him whether, 2f the charge were true, he had not better 
resign. This letter Mr. Judge gave to Mrs. Besant, who 
said that she had already arranged that a ‘‘ London mem- 


332 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


ber, a man of means, would go to India as special mes- 
senger so as to avoid all risks from spies at Adyar.”’ 
Miss Miller had already gone to India from London. 
The special messenger went to India, delivered Mr. 
Judge’s letter; Col. Olcott denied the charge, but put m 
his resignation of the Presidency, as we have seen. 
Why did Col. Olcott thus resign if mnocent? Yet re- 
sion he did, without explanation and without protest, 
as without consideration of the effect upon the Society of 
his resignation, both in the loss of his services and in 
the infinitely greater loss that would accrue if his resig- 
nation ‘‘under fire’’ should in any way become public 
knowledge. But a rational explanation must exist for 
every action, however irrational. The ample explanation 
is to be found in the understanding of the personal char- 
acteristics of Col. Olcott and a knowledge of his earlier 
life. Capable and energetic, very honest and very vain, 
he had achieved what in the world is called an honorable 
career; he had been a successful student, soldier, writer, 
lawyer. Exceedingly credulous he was, and as is the 
ease with all credulous people of ability and honesty, 
also exceedingly suspicious when his sensitiveness to 
ridicule was in any way pricked by the fear that he might 
have been duped. In his middle life he had been a ‘‘man 
of clubs, drinking parties, mistresses,’’ as he had him- 
self publicly stated in his letter to Mr. Hume printed in 
‘‘Hints on Esoteric Theosophy,’’ published in 1882. He 
knew that he had many enemies, both as a man and as 
President of the Theosophical Society, and he had never 
been able to overcome his jealousy of H.P.B. and Mr. 
Judge, both of whom he fancied were envious of his 
superior position in the Society and desirous of sup- 
planting him. He knew that if he refused to retire under 
fire and demanded an investigation of the charge made 
against him, the accusation would become public, and 
he, like many another even less open to calumny than 
himself, would be made the victim of ceaseless repeti- 
tions of the charge. Galling as it was to resign and retire, 
it was less galling than to endure the stings of the vermin 
of the press and to see or fancy that he saw, wherever 


GROWING DIVERGENCES 333 


he might go, the whisper and the knowing nod of those 
whose feast is scandal. 

Colonel Olcott’s letter of resignation as published in 
The Path was immediately followed by the text of 
Mr. Judge’s letter of acknowledgment, dated February 
22, 1892. Mr. Judge’s letter formally acknowledged, 
paragraph by paragraph, the several statements con- 
tained in the President-Founder’s epistle, and, in closing, 
contained the following expression of recognition and 
appreciation: 


... the Sections of the Society will, however 
rejoice when they read that you, in tendering 
your resignation of your official position, and 
in declaring continued loyalty to the movement 
—which indeed none could doubt,—assure us 
that the Society shall have as long as you live 
the benefit of your counsel when asked. Of this 
we shall as a body most surely avail ourselves, 
for otherwise we would be shown ineapable of 
valuing history, as well as ungrateful to one who 
so long has carried the banner of Theosophy in 
the thickest of the fight. 

With assurance of universal sympathy from 
the American Section, | am, my dear colleague, 
your friend and brother, 

Wuuiam Q. JupcE. 


CHAPTER XXII 
CONVENTIONS OF 1892—-oLCOTT WITHDRAWS HIS RESIGNATION 


Tue Sixth Annual Convention of the American Section 
was held at Chicago on April 24 and 25, 1892. It was 
attended by delegates or proxies from all of the 60 active 
Lodges in the United States, as well as by many Fel- 
lows individually. The great growth of the Movement 
and of the Society is indicated by the comparative figures 
of former years. In 1886, eleven years after the forma- 
tion of the Society, and the year in which The Path 
was founded, the entire number of Branches was 8; in 
1887 there were 12; in 1888, 19; in 1889, 26; in 1890, 
45; 1n 1891, 57; and by the end of 1892 the total had risen 
to 69. This enormous relative and actual increase can 
be ascribed to no adventitious circumstances, to no lavish 
outlay of money and the proselyting spirit, nor to the 
presence and work of persons of international reputa- 
tion and prestige. It was wholly due to impersonal and 
consistent presentation of the fundamental ideas and 
principles of Theosophy, to an undeviating active adher- 
ence to the spirit which animated H. P. Blavatsky. At- 
tention to the Second and Third Objects was at all times 
strictly subordinated to the great First Object. 

Although lacking the presence of both H.P.B. and 
Col. Olcott; although a large portion of its dues and 
contributions was regularly remitted to India for the 
support of Col. Oleott’s work there as well as of the 
Headquarters proper (for the Indian Section was never 
at any time self-sustaining in any sense); and although 
the American Section had been the very centre of the 
most violent eruptions within the Society, the work had 
so prospered within a period of five years that at the 
time of the Sixth Sectional Convention the active mem- 
bership, both in the Society and in the Esoteric Section, 

334 


OLCOTT’S RESIGNATION 355 


was, in the United States, greater than in all the rest 
of the world. Mr. Judge, holding like H.P.B. a merely 
nominal official position in the Society, but, like her, in- 
defatigable in the propagation of ideas and their prac- 
tical application, wedded to a Cause, not to an adminis- 
tration and an organization, was the living, human focus 
from which radiated the energy of which that Cause and 
its Messenger were the inspiration. 

Two letters were read from Col. Olcott, the first 
through pandit S. EK. Gopalacharlu, Recording Secretary 
of the T.S. at Headquarters. It contained the following 
reference to Col. Olcott’s retirement: 


The President Founder requests you to enter 
the text of his resignation and explanatory letter 
in the Official Report of your Convention, and 
to kindly say to his American brothers that the 
withdrawal from office is merely the relinquish- 
ment of an official position which, for reasons 
public and private, he felt he had no longer the 
moral right to retain. His love of the Society is 
so profound as to have taken possession of his 
whole being, and nothing but the sense of para- 
mount loyalty to its highest interest would have 
impelled him to retire. 


This letter was dated March 16, 1892. The other 
letter to which reference is made is Col. Oleott’s Cir- 
cular to all the Fellows of the Society. It is dated Jan- 
uary 27, 1892. It reiterates the publicly ascribed reason 
of ill-health as the occasion of his retirement and states 
that his remarks are ‘‘intended to remove from your 
minds all misconceptions,’’ as to the cause of his resig- 
nation. He continues: 


It may seem strange that I should announce 
this decision so soon after the Convention [at 
Adyar]; but I feel that this is the most suit- 
able time, as the Conventions of the American 
and European Sections will be held in three or 
four months’ time, so that any measures which 


336 


The Report of Mr. Judge to the Convention, as Gen- 
eral Secretary of the American Section, is filled with 
matter of enduring importance historically and of time- 
less value to the student of the principles and modulus 
of action of true Occultism. He begins with a retrospect 
of the important events and the important lessons of 
the past year, enforcing them by quotations from the 
first Letter of H.P.B. to the American Convention of 
1888. In his view the two most important events of the 
past year were the death of H.P.B. and the work under- 
taken by Mrs. Besant, both of which events he treats 


THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


my retirement renders necessary may be fully 
discussed at their Sessions. .. . 

Thus the three Sections of the Society are in 
thoroughly good hands, and my personal direc- 
tion is no longer indispensable. ee 

I have no intention of leaving India nor any 
desire to live elsewhere. This is my home, and 
I wish to die among my own heart-brothers, the 
Asiaties. I shall always be ready to give all 
needed help to my successor, and to place at the 
disposal of his Staff my best counsel, based upon 
an experience of some forty years of public 
life and seventeen years as President-Founder 
of the Society. ... 

In bidding you an official farewell, I have but 
to express my gratitude for a thousand evi- 
dences of your loving trust, and to pray you to 
judge compassionately of my shortcomings. 


from the standpoint of the Second Section: 


Duty kept her [H.P.B.] in London until she 
had finished the Secret Doctrine, the book that 
led Annie Besant into the Society from the 
negations of materialism, and then all-grasp- 
ing death claimed the body of H. P. Blavatsky. 
From my intimate acquaintance with H.P.B. 
for these many years and from her constant 
letters, I know that she remained in England 


OLCOTT’S RESIGNATION 337 


and this world much longer than her desires 
would keep her, in order that a telling blow could 
be struck at the great monster of disbelief. And 
that blow was delivered in the country which still 
greatly influences the thought of America, by 
the conversion of a lifelong champion of those 
‘who believe in no religion to theosophy, the most 
spiritual of all sciences and religions. I do not 
say this as praise for Annie Besant, nor merely 
as rejoicing that we acquired another noble 
heart and eloquent advocate, but to point out 
that many thousands of minds must have been 
shaken from their confident assertions of dis- 
belief when they saw that their old-time 
champion went over to theosophy; and at the 
same time members of the dogmatic sects per- 
ceived by the same event that, even if one gives 
up the negations of materialism, it does not fol- 
low that he must fall back again into the arms 
of any church or sect. Hence, then, by the ac- 
quisition without effort, but naturally, of one 
who was so long and so publicly known to all 
English-speaking peoples as the champion of 
negation in belief and altruism in endeavor, a 
telling, wide-vibrating blow was given to disbe- 
lief. And then H.P.B.—friend and fellow stu- 
dent—left us, on what other high mission bent 
we know not. 


It is interesting to compare the foregoing viewpoint 
and expression with the attitude and remarks of Col. 
Olcott on the same subjects as expressed in his Presi- 
dential Address in December, 1891,? from which we have 
quoted. Mr. Judge continues: 


The news of our loss in May, so soon after 
our successful Convention, created comment 
throughout the world; many members of the So- 
ciety would have easily joined in a sudden re- 

*See Chapter XX. 


338 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


treat from the field; and newspapers, together 
with croaking enemies of the Society, prophesied 
its fall, supposing that our movement was built 
on a personal worship of one woman. But 
scarce a moment elapsed ere a new resolve 
sprang up in the hearts of all, and actual cor- 
respondence has proved that through the world 
our members determined to be true to the cause 
and the objects outlined in that letter of 1888 
I quoted to you. The structure of sixteen years’ 
growth did not tremble in the least. 

Considering that the circumstances demanded 
it, and after advising with near friends, I sailed 
on May 138th, 1891, for London to consult our 
Fellows there to the end that a general unity of 
policy and action might be decided on. The 
event proved the propriety of the journey. As 
Vice-President of the entire Society, I had the 
great pleasure of presiding over the preliminary 
meetings in London to draft the necessary Con- 
stitution; and afterwards took part in July in 
their Convention, the president of which was 
Col. Olcott and where was adopted a form of 
constitution the same as that commended by our 
beloved H.P.B. in the extracts I have read you 
from her letters. That was the first theosophical 
convention of the European Branches, and must 
be regarded as the beginning of a new cycle 
for that Section as ours of 1888 was for us. It 
was most interesting and important in every 
respect. 


He speaks of the disposition of H.P.B.’s ashes, one 
portion of which was sent to India and the other divided 
between the London and American headquarters. He 
tells of the acquisition by the Aryan Society of New York 
of a building designed for the permanent headquarters 
of the American Section. He then takes up the resigna- 
tion of Col. Olcott, submits the official letters exchanged, 
advises as to the course of action necessary in the 


OLCOTT’S RESIGNATION $89 


premises to provide for the succession to the Presidency 
of the whole Society, urges the adoption of a recommen- 
dation from the American Section that Col. Olcott be of- 
fered a life-residency at Adyar, and suggests that a 
subscription be opened to provide for the Colonel’s pe- 
cuniary needs, ‘‘as a testimonial, however inadequate, of 
the gratitude of this Section for his long and devoted 
services.’?’ During the Convention the following resolu- 
tions were introduced and unanimously adopted: 


Whereas, Col. Henry S. Olcott, President- 
Founder of the Theosophical Society, has 
tendered his resignation of the office of Presi- 
dent to take effect May 1st proximo, and has re- 
quested that a successor be elected to the office 
of President of the Theosophical Society, and, 

Whereas, The General Secretary and Vice- 
President has taken the votes of all the Branches 
of this Section on the question of who shall be 
successor to the said office of President of the 
Theosophical Society, the said votes being unani- 
mously in favor of William Q. Judge, and they 
being now duly reported to and before this 
Convention ; 

Resolved, That the American Section in Con- 
vention assembled hereby tenders to Col. H. S. 
Olcott the expression of its profound gratitude 
and sincere appreciation for his unselfish devo- 
tion and long and faithful services for the 
Society which he helped to found and which is 
so largely indebted to him for its beneficent 
work and the recognition it has won in every 
quarter of the globe. 

Resolved, That in our estimation the position 
of Col. Olcott as ‘‘President-Founder’’ of the 
Society is, and must forever remain, unique. 
Another may succeed him in the office of Presi- 
dent and assume the duties of the office, but 
can never be ‘‘President-Founder.’’ 

Resolved, That this Convention confirms and 


340 


THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


ratifies the votes of said Branches, and as such 
Convention declares its choice for President to 
succeed Col. H. S. Olcott to be said William Q. 
Judge. But it is further 

Resolved, That the American Section in Con- 
vention hereby requests Col. Olcott to revoke 
his said resignation and remain President of the 
Society, deeming that it is not yet time for him 
to retire from said office, and it being possible 
for him to remain in said official position al- 
though his health may demand that the amount 
of his work be reduced to a minimum so far as 
traveling and speaking are concerned; and the 
General Secretary and Vice-President is hereby 
directed to at once notify Col. Olcott by tele- 
graph and letter of this request, forwarding 
copies thereof, to the end that all further pro- 
ceedings relative to said retirement be suspended 
until such time as the sense of the Huropean 
and Indian Sections on this point be obtained: 
that in the meantime it is the opinion and de- 
sire of this Section that the said resignation be 
not yet accepted but laid over for further con- 
sideration; and that, when the sense of the said 
Kuropean and Indian Sections shall have been 
obtained, the General Secretary and Executive 
Committee of this Section shall call a special 
meeting of the Council of the Section to con- 
sider the question upon the report to be made 
thereupon by the General Secretary and Vice- 
President, and 

Resolved, That this Section now declares its 
vote to be that when said office of President 
shall become vacant the successor to said Col. 
Olcott shall be said William Q. Judge, who shall 
hold said office for life unless removed for cause, 
and that he have power to nominate his succes- 
sor as now provided in the General Constitution 
in respect to Col. Olcott; and that the General 


OLCOTT’S RESIGNATION 


Constitution be amended so as to provide in ac- 
cordance with the foregoing, and that when the 
office of Vice-President shall become vacant, the 
choice of this Section for said office of Vice- 
President is Brother Bertram Keightley. 

Resolved, That this Section requests that Col. 
Olcott, when he shall have retired, if ever, be 
offered a life residence at Adyar Headquarters. 

Resolved, That the European and Indian Sec- 
tions of the Society be and they are hereby re- 
quested to co-operate with this Section in en- 
deavoring to carry out the letter and the spirit 
of these resolutions, and that the General 
Secretary of this Section immediately forward 
to said Sections an official copy of the same. 

Resolved, Therefore, that this Section hereby 
re-elects to the office of General Secretary of 
this Section its present Secretary, William Q. 
Judge. 


Am willing to do anything that is just and 
fair; I must stop here [Adyar] until I hear 
definitely from you [by mail]. 


341 


In accordance with the Convention’s instruction to tele- 
graph Col. Oleott of the American Section’s request for 
the withdrawal of his resignation, Mr. Judge cabled the 
substance of the resolution adopted and, at the final ses- 
sion of the Convention, read the assembled delegates 
Col. Oleott’s telegraphic reply: 


During the Convention Mr. Judge introduced the fol- 


Whereas, It is frequently asserted by those 
ignorant of the facts of the case and of the 
literature of the Society that the T.S. or its 
leaders seek to enforce certain beliefs or in- 


lowing resolution, which also was unanimously adopted, 
as an offset to the charges of ‘‘dogmatism’’ in the T.S. 
and the ‘‘worship”’ of H.P.B.: 


342 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


terpretations upon its members, or to establish 
a creedal interpretation of any of its philosophi- 
eal propositions; therefore 

Resolved, That the T.S. as such, has no creed, 
no formulated beliefs that could or should be 
enforced on any one inside or outside its ranks; 
that no doctrine can be declared as orthodox, 
and that no Theosophical Popery can exist with- 
out annulling the very basis of ethics and the 
foundations of truth upon which the whole 
Theosophical teachings rest; and in support of 
this resolution appeal is made to the entire lit- 
erature of the Society, and the oft-repeated 
statements published wide-spread by H.P.B., 
Col. Olcott, Mr. Judge, and every other promi- 
nent writer and speaker upon the subject since 
the foundation of the Theosophical Society. 


The full proceedings of the Convention were published 
in the Official Report. Copies of the various resolutions 
in relation to Col. Oleott’s tendered resignation were 
sent to the General Secretaries of the European and In- 
dian Sections, their substance printed in The Path and 
Lucifer, and a large publicity secured in the secular press. 
Mr. Judge wrote Col. Olcott both officially and privately, 
and in the latter capacity sent him a message received 
from one of the Masters. It is this message and a com- 
munication received direct by himself that Col. Olcott 
refers to in his final Official Letter on the subject of his 
resignation. Meantime, under date of April 27, im- 
mediately after receipt of Mr. Judge’s cabled news of 
the action of the American Convention, Col. Olcott is- 
sued ‘‘Hixecutive Orders’’ in relation to the difficulties 
in the way of his immediate retirement, and paves the 
way for the withdrawal of his resignation in these words: 


Notice is therefore given that, without again 
vainly trying to fix an actual date for my vacat- 
ing office, I shall do my utmost to hasten the 
completion of all legal business, so that I may 


OLCOTT’S RESIGNATION 343 


hand over everything to Mr. Judge, my old 
friend, colleague and chosen successor. 


The latter part of this statement refers to the pro- 
vision of the General Constitution adopted by the Indian 
Council and confirmed by the ‘‘ Adyar Parliament’’ some 
years before, empowering Col. Olcott to nominate his 
successor in office; and, while the American Section had 
expressed its choice of Mr. Judge as that successor, the 
European and Indian Sections had not yet had the op- 
portunity to express their wishes, whether on the ques- 
tion of accepting Col. Oleott’s resignation or the choice 
of his successor. 

This ‘‘Hixecutive Notice’’ was followed on May 25 by 
another ‘‘rescript’’ from Col. Olcott, reading: 


To THEOSOPHISTS 


I have just received a digest of the Resolu- 
tions passed by the American Convention rela- 
tive to my retirement and Mr. Judge’s re-elec- 
tion as General Secretary of the Section. As 
my resignation was not thoughtlessly offered nor 
without sufficient reasons, I shall not cancel it 
—save as I have been forced to do temporarily 
in the financial interest of the Society—until a 
long enough time has been given me to see what 
effect the invigorating air of these lovely moun- 
tains [Col. Oleott’s Notice was issued from 
Ootacamund in the Nilgherry Hills, India] will 
have upon my health, and I become satisfied that 
a return to executive work is essential to the 
welfare of our movement. Besides the meeting 
of the European Convention in July I am expect- 
ing other important events to happen and I shall 
give no answer until then. Meanwhile, however, 
my heart is touched by the universal tokens of 
personal regard and official approval which have 
reached me from all parts of the world. 

H. 8. Oucorr. 


344 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


This Note was published in Lucifer for July 15, 1892, 
just prior to the meeting of the Kuropean Convention. 
It was not perceived by the English and Continental 
Theosophists to be an intimation from Col. Olcott that 
he was, in fact, waiting to receive from them a request 
and re-affirmation similar to the action taken by the 
American Convention under the influence of Mr. Judge’s 
strong stand for the retention of the old ‘‘war-horse”’ 
of the Society. 

Lucifer for May, 1892, refers to the action taken by 
the American Convention, as reported by Mr. Mead who 
had attended the Convention as a delegate from the HKng- 
lish Theosophists. The substance of the various resolu- 
tions adopted is given and Mrs. Besant comments: 


. . . these resolutions, of course, do not bind 
the Society and no definite arrangement can be 
come to until the Kuropean Section has added 
its voice to those of the other Sections. With 
a Society extending all over the world, it takes 
a long time to reach a decision, but it is pleas- 
ant to see the good feeling which is manifested 
on all sides, and the strong wish to recognize 
good service in the past as giving claim to the 
utmost consideration. It is clear that Bro. 
Judge will be the next President, whether now 
or at some future date, but whether he will take 
office at once or not will remain doubtful for 
some months. Meanwhile, as no practical dif- 
ficulty is caused by the delay, we can all possess 
our souls in patience, and rejoice, at the broth- 
erly feeling shown in the American Section, 
alike in the wish to delay parting with the 
President-Founder as long as possible, and in 
the unanimous choice of a successor. 


The Convention of the European Section met at Lon- 
don on July 14, 1892. Mr. Judge, who was present, was, 
on Mrs. Besant’s motion, unanimously elected Chairman. 
Mrs. Besant’s report of the Convention in the August 


OLCOTT’S’ RESIGNATION 845 


Lucifer, recites that ‘‘the Chairman delivered an earnest 
opening address, recalling the memory of H.P.B., and 
speaking of the work done by Col. Olcott, the President- 
Founder, ‘‘work that no one else had done’’ and to be 
ever held in grateful remembrance in the Society. He 
also read a telegram from Col. Olcott, wishing success 
to the Convention, and a letter of greeting from the 
American Section. .. .”’ 

In this letter of greeting, which was signed by Mr. 
Judge as General Secretary, for the Executive Commit- 
tee of the American Section, he speaks on the subject of 
Col. Olcott’s resignation as follows: 


At our Convention in April last we asked you 
to unite with us in a request to Colonel Olcott 
to revoke his resignation. This we did in 
ecandour and friendship, leaving it to you to de- 
cide your course. We recollected what was so 
often and so truly said by H. P. Blavatsky, that 
this organization, unique in this century, par- 
took of the life of its parents. One of them was 
Col. Oleott. It would be disloyal to our ideals 
to hurry in accepting his resignation, even 
though we knew that we might get on without 
his presence at the head. And if he should hold 
to his determination our loving request would 
fill his remaining years with pleasing remem- 
brances of his brothers without a trace of bitter- 
Ness. 


The Convention began its regular business—so runs 
the account in Lucifer—‘‘by receiving the votes of the 
Section as to the election of President, the General 
Secretary [G. R. S. Mead] moving: 


Whereas, the President-Founder T.S., Colonel 
H. S. Olcott, owing to ill-health, has placed his 
resignation in the hands of the Vice-President, 
William Q. Judge; and 

Whereas, the votes of the European Section 
T.S., having been duly taken by the General 


346 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


Secretary, and the result declared that the choice 
of the European Section of a President to suc- 
ceed Col. Olcott is William Q. Judge: 

Resolved: that this Convention unanimously 
and enthusiastically confirms this vote, and 
chooses William Q. Judge as the succeeding 
President of the TS. 

Brother Jose Xifre [Delegate from Spain] 
seconded the resolution—continues Lucifer— 
and it was endorsed by a delegate from each 
country and carried with much applause. And 
so was taken an important step in the history 
of the T.S., and there remains only the Indian 
Section to speak its choice in unison, we may 
hope, with the American and the EKuropean, so 
that the first choice of a President may be 
unanimous. 


A second resolution offered by Mrs. Besant provided 
for the opening of a fund as a testimonial to Col. Olcott. 
The Convention ordered a telegram of greeting to be 
sent to Col. Olcott. Another resolution was proposed 
and carried unanimously, as follows: 


Whereas, this Convention has taken into due 
consideration the resolutions of our American 
brethren at their last Convention touching the 
resignation of the President-Founder; and 

Whereas, we have heard the answer of the 
President-Founder himself to these resolutions. 

Resolved: that while agreeing most cordially 
with the fraternal spirit of good-will that has 
animated the resolutions of our Brethren, and 
desiring always to co-operate with them in this 
liberal and commendable spirit, we consider that 
the answer of the President-Founder renders 
any further action impossible. 


Another resolution unanimously passed declared the 
neutrality of the T.S. in matters of religious and philo- 


OLCOTT’S RESIGNATION 347 


sophical opinion, and re-affirmed the freedom of the 
Society from any creed, dogma, or formulated belief 
other than its three proclaimed Objects. 

The action taken by the European Section with refer- 
ence to his tendered resignation filled Col. Olcott with 
disappointment and placed him in a most cruel dilemma. 
Encouraged by the American Convention in its resolu- 
tions, restored to confidence in a way out of the pre- 
dicament in which he had placed himself, braced by 
private letters of Mr. Judge and the Message transmitted 
to him as from the Masters, Col. Olcott, to whom his 
position and title were as the breath of life and to whose 
fulfillment he had given that life, evidently had expected 
no other outcome to the European Convention than the 
passage by it of resolutions of the same tenor as the 
American Convention’s, urging him to withdraw his 
proffered resignation. That he took stock of his para- 
mount longing is apparent from the ‘‘Supplement’’ to 
The Theosophist for September, 1892. 


EXECUTIVE ORDERS 
THEOSOPHICAL SOCIETY 


PRESIDENT’s OFFICE, 
21st August, 1892. 


THE PRESIDENT’S RETIREMENT 


In January last, confined to my room by sick- 
ness, lame in both feet, unable to move about, 
Save on crutches, and yearning for rest after 
many years of incessant work, I carried out a 
purpose long entertained and sent the Vice- 
President my resignation of the Presidentship. 
I should have exercised my constitutional right 
and named him as my successor if I had not been 
told that the American and European Sections 
would not consent to having the office filled dur- 
ing my lifetime, this being, they thought, the 
truest compliment that could be paid me. Im- 
mediately I began building the cottage at 


348 


THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


Ootacamund on land bought in 1888, as a retreat 
for H.P.B. and myself in our old age. 

On the 11th February, however, the familiar 
voice of my Guru chided me for attempting to 
retire before my time, asserted the unbroken 
relation between Himself, H.P.B. and myself, 
and bade me to receive further and more specific 
orders by messenger, but without naming the 
time or place. 

The Indian Section had, as early as February 
last, unanimously agreed to recommend that, if 
I were really compelled to retire, the Presi- 
dential office should not be filled during my life- 
time, but my duties performed by the Vice- 
President, acting as P.T.S. Nearly all the In- 
dian branches and most influential members, 
as well as the Branches and chief members in 
Australasia and Ceylon, and many in Kurope 
and America wrote to express their hope that I 
might yet see my way to retaining an office in 
which I had given satisfaction. 

Under date of April 20th, Mr. Judge cabled 
from New York that he was not then able to 
relinquish the Secretaryship of the American 
Section and wrote me, enclosing a transcript of 
a message he had also received for me from a 
Master that ‘‘it is not time, nor right, nor just, 
nor wise, nor the real wish of the .*. that you 
should go out, either corporeally or officially.’’ 

The Chicago Convention of the American 
Section, held in the same month, unanimously 
adopted Resolutions declaring their choice of 
Mr. Judge as my constitutional successor, but 
asking me not to retire. 

The London Convention of the European Sec- 
tion, held in July, also unanimously declared its 
choice of Mr. Judge as my successor and adopted 
complimentary Resolutions about myself, but 
abstained from passing upon the question of my 
remaining in office under the misapprehension 


OLCOTT’S RESIGNATION 849 


—how caused I know not—that I had definitely 
and finally refused to revoke my January let- 
ter of resignation. The fact being that the terms 
of my May note upon the subject .. . left the 
question open and dependent upon the con- 
tingencies of my health and the proof that my 
return to office would be for the best interest 
of the Society. 

A long rest in the mountains has restored my 
health and renewed my mental and physical 
vigor, and therefore, since further suspense 
would injure the Society, I hereby give notice 
that I revoke my letter of resignation and re- 
sume active duties and responsibilities of office: 
and I declare William Q. Judge, Vice-President, 
my constitutional successor, and eligible for duty 
as such upon his relinquishment of any other of- 
fice in the Society which he may hold at the time 
of my death. 

H. 8. Otcort, P.T.S. 


The Path for October, 1892, contains the following 
under the title ‘‘Col. Olecott’s Revocation’’— 


To the Members and Branches of T.S. in U. S.: 
On the 30th of August, 1892, I received the 
following telegram from Col. H. 8S. Olcott: 


‘‘To Judge, New York: Col. H. S. Olcott 
remains president’? (of the Theosophical 
Society). 


Notice of this revocation of his resignation 
of the office of President was immediately given 
by me through the newspaper press of the 
country. His official letter arrived September 
24th and is given hereunder with the accompany- 
ing circular. They are now printed for general 
information, and will go to the Secretaries of 
Branches as soon as possible. 

The election of successor to the presidency 


350 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


having been held in all the Sections, and the 
choice having been unanimous, there will be no 
new election for the office, but the General Coun- 
cil, consisting of the President and General 
Secretaries, will make the needed Constitutional 
alterations. The well-working machinery of the 
Sections will go on with no change of officials, 
and the President-Founder will remain at the 
head of the organization till the very last, thus 
fulfilling the promise given in his resignation 
of never ceasing to devote himself to the Cause 
of the Society which he has so long worked for 
in season and out of season, in every land and 
in many climates. 
Wiuiam Q. Jupcs, 
Gen. Sec’y Am. See. 


This was followed by the text of Col. Olcott’s official 
notification and the text of the ‘‘Hxecutive Cireular’’ 
which we have given. 


CHAPTER XXIII 


H.P.B.’8 ‘*SUCCESSORS’’—THE PUBLICATION OF ‘‘OLD 
DIARY LEAVES’’ 


Tue Adyar parliament following the withdrawal by 
Col. Oleott of his resignation was held at the close of 
1892, and is notable for several matters. The Presi- 
dential Address of Col. Olcott illustrates the workings 
of his mind over recent events. On the subject of his 
late resignation he reiterates that it was prompted by 
ill health, and in discussing his resumption of duties as 
President he calls it a ‘‘sacrifice demanded by the best 
interests of the Society.’’ On the action taken by the 
various Sections he says: 


The Indian Section expressed its desire that 
I should hold office for life, even without per- 
forming the duties; the American Section 
begged me to reconsider and cancel my resigna- 
tion; and the European Section, misled by ig- 
norance of the exact phraseology of an Eixecutive 
Order which I[ had published, into supposing that 
I had absolutely refused to resume the Presi- 
dentship, simply elected Mr. Judge as my suc- 
cessor. 


The student may compare these statements with the 
facts as set forth in the two preceding chapters. It is 
important that this should be done, as this matter of his 
resignation and the two bogies of ‘‘dogmatism in the 
T.S., and the ‘‘worship of H.P.B.’’ continued to haunt 
the mind of Col. Olcott. The Presidential Address of 
1892 also contains the admission by Col. Olcott that the 
so-called Adyar Conventions were neither official nor un- 
officially representative of the whole Society; it marks 

351 


352 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


also the recrudescence of the effort made in 1888-9 to 
focus the attention of the members upon the Society, 
upon Adyar, upon the official authority of the President- 
Founder, as detailed in Chapters XV and XVI. Col. 
Olcott said on these subjects: 


The loose federal organization of the Society 
in autonomous Sections, provides a very ef- 
ficient means of local management, but is apt 
to give rise to a powerful disintegrating ten- 
dency, leading individual Sections to lose sight 
of the unity of the Society, in an all-absorbing 
interest in their own special work. 

Under the present Rules, no General Conven- 
tion of the whole T.S. is now held; and the fed- 
eral unity of the whole body finds expression 
only in my Annual Report, which is sent to every 
Branch of the Society throughout the world. 

My Annual Report, therefore, assumes a spe- 
cial historic value and great importance, as it is 
the only means by which the members and 
Branches of the Society have brought before 
them a complete view of the Society’s work as a 
whole. ... For it must be remembered that 
the gathering I am now addressing is a purely 
personal one, and in no sense a Representative 
Convention of the whole T.S. ... it is simply 
a gathering of Theosophists to whom I am read- 
ing my Annual Report before despatching it to 
all parts of the world... . 

It is only by viewing our work from the stand- 
point of the Federal Centre, the real axis of 
our revolving wheel, that the net loss or gain 
of the year’s activity can be estimated. Thus, 
for instance, intense action is the feature within 
the American Section, while a marked lassitude 
has of late been noted in the Indian work. 
Hurope, manifesting a maximum of activity in 
London, a lesser yet most creditable degree at 
Paris, Barcelona, The Hague, in Sweden and 


H.P.B.’S “SUCCESSORS” 353 


elsewhere, shows seven new Branches to India’s 
eight and America’s thirteen. Thus while the 
outlook is not exhilarating in one part of the 
world, it is highly encouraging, taking the field 
as a whole. 


An instructive contrast is offered by considering the 
state of the Society and the Movement in India and the 
Orient generally. The ‘‘marked lassitude’’ of which Col. 
Olcott speaks is made very plain by turning to the Report 
of Bertram Keightley, General Secretary of the Indian 
Section, included in the Report of the Proceedings of 
the Adyar Convention at the end of 1892. His report 
shows 145 Branches on the roll of the Indian Section, 
and he speaks in detail of their condition. He sum- 
marizes as follows: 


It is foolish for us to console ourselves for 
the many deficiencies of our Indian Section, by 
pointing to our long list of Branches and gazing 
with placid satisfaction at the numerous shields 
on these walls, when we know in our inmost 
hearts, that there are, as my report shows, only 
five Branches that are really dowmg satisfactory 
work. 


When the student remembers that the Indian Section 
and the Orient generally, had been, since 1885, ex- 
clusively under the unquestioned control and inspiration 
of the President-Founder, supported at all times by the 
loyal co-operation of H.P.B. and W.Q.J., supported 
also in great part by dues and voluntary contributions 
from America and England, and by numerous volunteer 
workers who went in a steady succession from the West 
to the East, but two conclusions can be drawn: First, 
that Col. Oleott’s ideas as to the proper basis for work 
were erroneous; second, that the spirit of the First Ob- 
ject and the teachings of Theosophy made no practical 
appeal either to the Hindus or to himself. They, like 
himself, were interested primarily in the Second and 


354 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


Third Objects and in the Society as a forum for their 
discussion—not in Brotherhood and ‘‘the vital principles 
which underlie the philosophical systems of old.’’ 
Turning now from the public phases of events and 
their discussion in the Sectional Conventions, in the 
various Reports, and in the three leading magazines, The 
Theosophist, Lucifer, and The Path, it is informative 
to review the trend of the Esoteric Section or School 
during the same period and in relation to the same is- 
sues. The re-organization of the School and the re- 
affirmation of principles and policies as contained in 
the Circular of May 27, 1891, have already been de- 
seribed.1. Under the clear and logical lines thus estab- 
lished the work of the School proceeded apace, free from 
dissensions or disharmonies. The public writings of 
H.P.B. and of others recommended by her, the private 
Instructions issued by H.P.B., and the various papers 
with ‘‘Suggestions and Aids”’ supplied by Mr. Judge and 
Mrs. Besant as joint Heads of the School, afforded 
abundant and consistent material for study and appli- 
cation in daily life. The Rules of the School itself, the 
incentive provided by its teachings and purposes and the 
example of Mr. Judge and Mrs. Besant were ample to 
make the members active and energetic in the public 
promulgation of Theosophy and in the support of the 
T.S., while the very freedom from any taint of authority, 
external supervision or prescribed regulations but caused 
the members to be voluntarily more self-sacrificing in 
time, money, and work to make the exoteric Society a 
real and true success in the line of its proclaimed Ob- 
jects. It should be clearly borne in mind that the In- 
structions of H.P.B. to the E.S.T. were in no sense 
orders, but simply more definite and specific statements 
of Teaching than are contained in her exoteric writings. 
The Rules of the School were, in the same way, not 
regulations to be enforced by any outside pressure of 
superior authorities, but those statements of discipline 
and conduct which each member voluntarily gave his 
‘f‘most solemn and sacred word of honor’’ to enforce 
*See Chapter XIX, 


H.P.B.’S “SUCCESSORS” 355 


upon himself in his own thoughts and actions. And it 
should be remembered that while thousands of members 
of the T.S. were not members of the E.S., no one could 
enter or remain in the E.S. who was not also a member 
of the T.S. In a word: the exoteric Theosophical So- 
ciety had three defined Objects and was committed to 
no religion, no philosophy, no science, no system of 
thought; the Esoteric School had the same Three Objects, 
but in addition its members were voluntarily pledged 
to do their utmost to make those Objects effective in their 
own lives through the study and practice of Theosophy, 
exoteric and esoteric. As, outside of Col. Olcott and 
Mr. Sinnett, nearly all of those most active in the So- 
ciety were pledged probationers of the Esoteric School, 
there was necessarily room for speculation, question, 
doubt, and suspicion among members of the exoteric 
Society not members of the E.S. as to that body. As has 
been noted,” these fears possessed Col. Olcott long before 
the formation of the E..S., and continued till long after- 
wards. H.P.B. had done her utmost to allay them during 
her lifetime. It was not long after her death before the 
stand taken in regard to her and her work by the re- 
organized E.S. became a matter of more or less common 
knowledge in the exoterice Society, and it was this which 
in fact stirred Col. Olcott to renewed apprehension lest 
theremariseran . <P Bxrcuiieeeworshi tag Obst tb. be 
‘‘dogmatism in the T.S.’’ and a ‘‘breach of the neutral- 
ity of the T.S.’’ in matters of opinion and belief, and 
led to his public remarks in his Presidential Address at 
the Adyar Convention at the close of 1891. How these 
apprehensions and misapprehensions were met publicly 
by Mrs. Besant and Mr. Judge has already been shown.? 
Within the School itself a circular, ‘‘strictly private and 
only for E.S. members’’ as usual, was sent out on March 
29, 1892. It began with an ‘‘Imporrant Noticr’’ in 
italics, reading as follows: 


The E.S.T. has no official connection with the 
Theosophical Society. 


?See Chapters X and XI. 
*See Chapter XX. 


356 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


When first organized it was known as a sec 
tion of the T.S. but it being seen that the perfect 
freedom and public character of the Society 
might be wterfered with, H.P.B., some time 
before her departure, gave notice that all of- 
ficial connection between the two should end, and 
then changed the name to the present one. 

This leaves all T.S8. officials who are wm the 
E.S.T. perfectly free wm their official capacity, 
and also permits members if asked to say with 
truth that the School has no official connection 
with the T.S. and 1s not a part of it. 

Members will please bear this in mind. 

Annie BEsant 
Wituiam Q. JupbcE. 


The body of the circular contained an added reference 
to the subject under the caption, ‘‘THr T.S. anp THE 
ScHOOL’’: 


Members must carefully remember that the 
School has no official connection with the So- 
ciety [T.S.], although none are admitted who 
are not F.T.S. [Fellows of the T.S.] Hence 
the T.S. must not be compromised by mem- 
bers of the School. We must all recollect that 
the T.S. is a free open body. So if one of the 
Heads is also an official in the T.S., his or her 
words or requests as such T.S. official must not 
under any circumstances be colored or con- 
strued on the basis of the work of this School. 

This caution is necessary because some mem- 
bers have said to the General Secretary of the 
U.S. Sect. T. S. [Mr. Judge] that they regarded 
his words as such official to be an order. This 
is improper and may lead to trouble if members 
cannot see their plain ethical duty under the 
pledge. They are, surely, to work for the T\S., 
but must also use their common-sense and never 
let the T.S. become dogmatic. 


H.P.B.S “SUCCESSORS” 357 


Although this circular was signed by both Mrs. Bes- 
ant and Mr. Judge, it was in fact written by Mr. Judge, 
and its occasion is an illustration of the difficulties under 
which he, like H.P.B. before him, labored in trying to 
secure continuity of policy in line with proclaimed prin- 
ciples on the part of associates. The occasion was as fol- 
lows: Following the public news of the resignation of 
Col. Olcott, Mrs. Besant, then full of faith in Mr. Judge 
and of zeal to influence others to adopt her own particular 
ideas, had sent out on March 10, 1892, a circular letter 
to all members of the School urging the election of Mr. 
Judge to the office of President of the T.S. This cir- 
cular of Mrs. Besant’s was sent out without Mr. Judge’s 
knowledge. So soon as he learned of it he prepared 
the circular of March 29, from which we have been quot- 
ing, to offset as far as possible the mischief it might lead 
to, and to restate the true position without chagrin for 
Mrs. Besant. 

The aftermath of Mrs. Besant’s circular is equally 
interesting and instructive. As Mr. Judge had antici- 
pated, some members of the E.S. took Mrs. Besant’s 
circular as an ‘‘order,’’ and others resented it as an inter- 
ference; still others saw in it an attempt of the E.S. to 
control the T.S. and make a breach in the neutrality of 
the exoteric Society. And when the July, 1892, Conven- 
tion of the Kuropean Section ignored the request of the 
American Section to join with it in asking Col. Olcott 
to revoke his resignation, and instead accepted the resig- 
nation as a fait accompli, its action was ascribed by many 
to the E.S. influence exerted by Mrs. Besant’s circular. 
And since Mr. Judge seemed in their eyes to have been 
the beneficiary, as he was chosen President in place of 
Col. Olcott, it was easy for the jealous and suspicious 
minded to conclude that the whole proceeding had been, 
if not actually engineered by him, at least carried through 
with his tacit approval. And this was actually one of 
the charges against him in the affairs of 1894-5. It is 
now time that the actual facts and real actors should 
be known and the circular to the E.S. of March 29, 1892, 
three months before the Kuropean Convention of that 


358 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


year, shows Mr. Judge’s entire innocence and good faith. 
More, when the suspicions spoken of were voiced, as they 
were, immediately following the European Section Con- 
vention in July, 1892, by partisans and friends of Col. 
Oleott and by others envious of the sudden rise to promi- 
nence and power of Mrs. Besant, Mr. Judge joined with 
Mrs. Besant in signing the circular sent out by her from 
London, dated August 1, 1892, explaining and defending 
her action. This circular, written by Mrs. Besant, and 
sent to all E.S. members, is really a key to the work- 
ings of her consciousness when her actions, good or bad, 
were questioned by anyone. She says: 


You will see that Annie Besant, as one of the 
two to whom Masrrrs committed the charge of 
the E.S.T., was discharging an obvious duty 
when she called on members of the School to 
show strength, quietness, and absence of preju- 
dice, and to try and infuse similar qualities into 
the branches of the Society at such an important 
time as the first Presidential Election. The di- 
rection to act as pacificators and to make har- 
mony their object, is in exact accord with the 
word of our Teacher, H.P.B.... 

There remains the statement, not made as one 
of the Outer Heads, that Annie Besant hoped 
that the choice of the Society would fall upon 
William Q. Judge, as President, and it was sug- 
gested . . . that this would be taken as a direc- 
tion to Esotericists to vote for him, although 
they were told, in so many words, that as no di- 
rection had come each must use his own best 
judgment. But had a far stronger form of ad- 
vice been used, would the liberty of members 
have been unfairly infringed? Once more a 
glance at the past may help us. The first form 
of pledge in the School bound the disciple ‘‘to 
obey, without cavil or delay, the orders of the 
Head of the E.S. in all that concerns my rela- 
tion with the Theosophical Movement.’’ On be- 


H.P.B.’S “SUCCESSORS” 859 


coming an Esotericist he voluntarily abdicated 
his liberty as regarded the Exxoteric Society, and 
bound himself to carry out in the Exoterie So- 
ciety the orders he received from the head of 
the E.S. 

It is true that this simple frank pledge was 
altered by H.P.B. in consequence of the criti- 
cism of some, who feared lest obedience against 
conscience should be claimed by her; but, as she 
herself said, the remodeled clause was a farce. 
She changed it, not because the new form was 
good, but because Western students were, many 
of them, not ready to pass under Occult train- 
ing. They do not understand the privilege of 
obedience, when rendered to such as are the 
Masters. ... 

Obedience is forced on none: . . . Meanwhile 
let all feel assured that neither of us two will 
make any attempt to give orders to the School, 
except in its societies and ordinary work, and 
that you are free to accept or reject our advice 
as you will. 


Certain exceptions must be taken to the foregoing as 
to matters of fact: (1) the original ‘‘pledge’’ was not, in 
fact, in the wording given in quotation by Mrs. Besant; 
(2) no member was ever asked, attempted to be influ- 
enced, or permitted to ‘‘abdicate his liberty’’ in the exo- 
teric Society, or ‘‘bind himself to carry out in the exo- 
teric Society the orders he received from the Head of 
the H.S.,’’ either by H.P.B. or Mr. Judge or in any 
messages received through them from the Masters; these 
are Mrs. Besant’s own interpretations and conclusions; 
(3) ‘‘obedience to the Masters,’’ is one thing, obedience 
to the ‘‘Outer Head of the E.S.,’’ quite another thing, 
whether that ‘‘Outer Head’’ were H.P.B., Mr. Judge, 
Mrs. Besant, or anyone else; (4) the pledge, Rules, and 
Instructions of the E.S.T. were for the help and guid- 
ance of the members in their relation of pupils to a 
teacher in a School, not for the regulation and govern- 


360 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


ment of an organization by its authorities, and were uni- 
formly so stated to be and so construed by both H.P.B. 
and W.Q.J. 

It may be asked, Why did not Mr. Judge himself take 
exceptions to this circular of Mrs. Besant’s which he 
signed with her? The answer is obvious to any mind 
which can grasp the spirit of the Movement and the 
related facts. Mr. Judge did take exceptions m advance, 
by stating the true position in the circular of March 29, 
1892,—the same position that both H.P.B. and himself 
had repeatedly taken previously, both in the School and 
in the public Society. When Mrs. Besant asked him to 
sion with her this defensive circular of August 1, 1892, 
he was placed in the same position as H.P.B. so often 
was in relation with Col. Olcott: Having stated the true 
position on his own account, he went to the utmost lmits 
to shelter and support a colleague who had erred, and 
left to the discrimination of the students themselves to 
make their own application. ‘T’o have done other than 
as he did would have been himself to violate the spirit 
of the School, to infringe on the freedom of the mem- 
bers, to expose the mistakes of a co-worker and to invite 
arupture. All the members of the School had the pledge, 
the various E.S. communications of H.P.B., and her 
Prelumimary Memoranda and Instructions; it was for the 
members to apply them to the case in hand, uncoached 
and uninterfered with. To have interfered, except in 
a drastic emergency where the course was not clear upon. 
reflection, was to retard or subvert the very purposes of 
the School as set forth in one of the most important of 
the Rules: 


It is required of a member that when a ques- 
tion arises it shall be deeply thought over from 
all its aspects, to the end that he may find the 
answer himself; and in no ease shall questions be 
asked . . . until the person has exhausted every 
ordinary means of solving the doubt or of acquir- 
ing himself the information sought. Otherwise 

“See Chapter XVI. 


H.P.B.’S “SUCCESSORS” 361 


his mtwition will never be developed; he will 
not learn self-reliance; and two of the man ob- 
jects of the School will be defeated. 


In other words, the very object of the mission and 
message of H.P.B., esoteric and exoteric, was to destroy 
that authority which human nature alternately seeks to 
impose or to lean upon. Another episode, equally illus- 
trative of this human tendency to substitute some au- 
thority for self-knowledge, as of its other pole, the ambi- 
tion to pose ‘‘as one having authority’’ before the ig- 
norant, the credulous, and the self-seeking, is to be found 
in the question of ‘‘suecessorship’’ which was raised im- 
mediately after the death of H.P.B. 

In human jurisprudence succession relates to the trans- 
mission of property, rights, privileges, power, authority, 
obligations, and responsibility. Heclesiastically, the doc- 
trine generally denominated apostolic succession is as 
old as popular religion and is integral with the idea of 
a priesthood. ‘‘The King never dies,’’ and ‘‘the King 
can do no wrong,’’ are two ancient phrases which convey 
the conception of the ‘‘divine right of kings’’ and the 
transmission of the kingly office from predecessor to suc- 
cessor. In religious history both myth and tradition, as 
well as accredited records, show that in all times, among 
all peoples, in all religions, there has been a deeply im- 
bedded corresponding notion that spiritual knowledge 
and its concomitants can be conveyed by some sort of 
eift or endowment. This proceeds from the assumption 
that the Founder can convey His nature to His Disciples, 
they to their disciples, and so on in an unbroken line of 
transmission, the same as a physical object can be passed 
on from hand to hand. Inseparably bound up with this 
popular dogma are the ideas that some particular tribe, 
or caste or association, made up of the individuals thus 
endowed and their followers and believers, are the chosen 
vehicle of this apostolic succession, which is conveyed by 
birth, by baptism, by laying on of hands, by election, by 
ordination, by other rites and ceremonies; and that a 
peculiar and sacred authority attaches by virtue thereof 


362 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


to the particular individuals and associations, who are 
thus able to bind or loose, to save or damn the common 
herd of mankind. The whole claim of the Brahmin caste 
in India, of the Roman Catholic Hierarchy, of the Greek 
Catholic Church, of the Anglican Communion, to con- 
sideration rests upon this popular superstition and upon 
the vast edifice of theological subtleties erected by end- 
less generations of false prophets and priests. It is the 
basis of Judaism and Mohammedanism, and the various 
Protestant Christian sects equally depend on this dogma. 

The prime mission of H. P. Blavatsky, as of every other 
religious Founder and Reformer, was to destroy this 
monstrous parasite on human faith in the Divine in 
Nature and in Man, in the only way it can ever be de- 
stroyed: By pointing out its fundamental inequity and 
injustice on the one hand, and, on the other, by spread- 
ing far and wide true basic concepts of Deity, of Law, 
and of Man,—ideas so unassailably just, so logically se- 
quential, so scientifically buttressed, so philosophically 
sound, so self-evidently manifest in every department 
of nature, that none but the fool and the false could fail 
to grasp them. ‘‘Isis Unveiled,’’ from beginning to end, 
was written with this very object in view, as were all her 
other writings; the Theosophical Society and its Esoteric 
Section had the same great objective: The Theosophical 
Movement exists for no other purpose than to supplant 
this monstrous heresy on true religion, pure and unde- 
filed, by giving mankind Knowledge in place of belief; 
Teachers in place of priestly authority. To quote all 
that H.P.B. has written upon this subject and its cog- 
nates is to quote all that she ever wrote. But two cita- 
tions from ‘‘TIsis Unveiled’’ will serve to give her views; 
for her reasons, arguments, and evidences, the student 
must study the work itself. Thus, near the close of 
Volume 2 (p. 544), she says: 


The present volumes have been written to 

small purpose if they have not shown . . . that 

. apostolic succession is a gross and palpable 
fraud. 


H.P.B.’S “SUCCESSORS” 363 


And again, page 635 of the same volume: 


The world needs no sectarian church, whether 
of Buddha, Jesus, Mahomet, Swedenborg, Cal- 
vin, or any other. There being but One Truth, 
man requires but one church—the Temple of 
God within us, walled in by matter but penetra- 
ble by any one who ean find the way; the pure 
m heart see God. 


When H.P.B. died the first question in the minds 
of many of the members, as in public curiosity, was, 
Who will be her successor? At once the newspapers re- 
sponded to this gullibility and desire for sensation. 
Within a week from the death of H.P.B. the Paris press 
announced that Madame Marie Caithness, Duchess of 
Pomar, had been ‘‘chosen’’ by H.P.B. as her successor. 
The Duchess had been a long-time friend of H.P.B., 
who had been her guest during the stay in Paris in 1884; 
she was ‘‘psychic’’; she was greatly interested in the 
‘‘Occult’’; she was socially prominent. It was enough! 
She was promptly accepted by many French ‘‘spiritists”’ 
with Theosophical leanings as the new wearer of the 
mantle of the prophet. The fire promptly spread to Eng- 
land; Mrs. Besant was ‘‘written up’’ as the successor. 
She was brilliant; she was famous; she had been the 
right hand of H.P.B. for two years; she was an Oc- 
cultist; she was head and shoulders above any The- 
osophist before the public; ergo, she was the successor. 
In America the same curiosity and interest existed and 
Mr. Judge was considered the foreordained successor. 
But when the versatile reporters sought to interview him, 
he received them in a body and made to them the succinct 
statement: ‘‘Madame Blavatsky was sui generis. She 
has, and can have, no ‘successor.’ ”’ 

Nevertheless, the appetite existed and public curiosity 
did not lack for nourishment. A score of mediums and 
psychics in as many different cities announced for them- 
selves, on the strength of. real or pretended messages 
from their several guides and controls that they were, 


364 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


each of them, the successor of Madame Blavatsky. Not 
a month passed but a new successor was heralded by 
some trustful believer in his claims, or claimed for him- 
self by some less modest aspirant. In nearly every large 
center of the Society there was to be found some Oc- 
cultist who was not averse to letting it be known that 
he was ‘fin communication with the Masters,’’ and each 
of these had his believers and his imitators. Late in 1891, 
Mr. Henry B. Foulke of Philadelphia, Pa., claimed to be 
Madame Blavatsky’s successor. Mr. Foulke had been a 
member of the Esoteric Section, and had corresponded 
with H.P.B. His claim was that H.P.B. had ‘‘ap- 
pointed’’ him during her life and that since her death he 
had received communications from her confirming the ap- 
pointment, bidding him demand recognition and take over 
the direction of the Society and the guidance of the 
School. He therefore wrote to Col. Olcott, Mrs. Besant, 
and Mr. Judge, offering to submit his ‘‘proofs,’’ and, 
upon their refusal to pay any attention to him or his 
claims of successorship, made his claims public through 
the newspapers. Mrs. Besant and Mr. Judge promptly 
suspended him from his membership in the Esoteric 
Section; whereupon he resigned from the E.S. and 
from the Society. Mr. Foulke and his claims were taken 
up by a number of papers, notably the Wilkes-Barre 
(Pa.) Times. Mr. Judge wrote two letters on the sub- 
ject to the Times, and these were reprinted by Mrs. Be- 
sant in Lucifer for March, 1892. For their present as 
well as their historical value, we give here the text of 
the germane portions of these two letters by Mr. Judge, 
as published in Lucifer, accompanied by Mrs. Besant’s 
comment: ‘‘As non-theosophists ... were to some ex- 
tent misled by the preposterous fiction, W. Q. Judge sent 
the following letters to the paper in which the state- 
ment first appeared’’: 


Kiditor Times: 

Will you permit me to correct the statement 
... that Madame Blavatsky appointed as her 
‘“successor’’? Mr. Henry B. Foulke, and ‘‘guar- 


H.P.B.’S “SUCCESSORS” 


anteed’’ to him the ‘‘allegiance’’ of the ‘‘higher 
spiritual intelligences and forces.’’ As one of 
Madame Blavatsky’s oldest and most intimate 
friends, connected with her most closely in the 
foundation and work of the Theosophical So- 
ciety, and familiar with her teachings, purposes, 
ideas, forecasts, [ am in a position to assure 
... the public that there is not an atom of 
foundation for the statement quoted. 

Madame Blavatsky has no ‘‘successor,’’ could 
have none, never contemplated, selected, or noti- 
fied one. Her work and status were unique. 
Whether or not her genuineness as a spiritual 
teacher be admitted matters not: she believed it 
to be so, and all who enjoyed her confidence will 
unite with me in the assertion that she never 
even hinted at ‘‘succession,’’ ‘‘allegiance,’’ or 
‘‘ouarantee.’’ Hven if a successor was possible, 
Mr. Foulke could not be he. He is not a mem- 
ber of the Theosophical Society, does not ac- 
cept its and her teachings, had a very slight and 
brief acquaintance with her, and pretends to no 
interest in her views, life or mission. Of her 
actual estimate of him I have ample knowledge. 

But anyhow, no ‘‘guaranteeing of allegiance of 
spiritual forces’? is practicable by anyone. 
Knowledge of and control over the higher poten- 
cies in Nature comes only by individual attain- 
ment through long discipline and conquest. It 
can no more be transferred than can a knowl- 
edge of Greek, of chemistry, psychology, or of 
medicine. If a person moves on a lofty level, it 
is because he worked his way there. This is 
true in spiritual things as in mental. When Mr. 
Foulke produces a work like Isis Unveiled 
or The Secret Doctrine, he may be cited as 
H.P.B.’s intellectual peer; when he imparts 
such impulsion as does The Voice of the Si- 
lence, he may be recognized as her spiritual 


equal; when he adds to these an utter consecra- . 


365 


366 


THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


tion to the work of the T.S. as his hfelong mis- 
sion, he may participate in such ‘‘succession’’ 
as the case admits. But it will not be through al- 
leged precipitated pictures and imagined astral 
shapes. The effect of these on Theosophy... 
may be stated in one word—nothing. 
Yours truly, 
WituiaMm Q. JUDGE, 
Gen. Sec’y American Sec. 


Editor Times: 


Will you allow me a word—my last—respect- 
ing the Foulke claim to succeed Mme. Blavatsky. 


First. If Mr. Foulke ... has precipitated 
pictures of Mme. Blavatsky produced since her 
demise ... Precipitations are not uncommon, 


but are no evidence of anything whatever save 
the power to precipitate and the fact of precipi- 
tation. Spiritualists have always asserted that 
their mediums could procure these things. 
Chemists also can precipitate substances out of 
the air. So this point is wide of the Society 
and its work. 

Second. AsIsaid in my previous letter, when 
Mr. Foulke, or any one, indeed, proves by his 
work and attainments that he is as great as 
Mme. Blavatsky, every one will at once recog- 
nize that fact. But irresponsible mediumship, 
or what we call astral intoxication, will not prove 
these attainments nor constitute that work. 

Third. Mme. Blavatsky was Corresponding 
Secretary of the Theosophical Society, and its 
Constitution years ago provided that office, out 
of compliment to her, should become extinct 
upon her death. ... The Society will hardly 
hurry to revive it for the sake of one who is not 
a member of the body and who has never thrown 
any particular glory upon it. Scarcely either 
because he is a medium—and not even a good 
one—who prates of receiving messages from be- 


H.P.B.’S “SUCCESSORS” 367 


yond the grave assumed to be from Mme. Bla- 
vatsky. He may assert that he has baskets full 
of letters from Mme. Blavatsky written before 
her death, and we are not interested either to 
deny the assertion or to desire to see the 
documents. 

Fourth. The Theosophical Society is a body 
governed by Rules embodied in its Constitution. 
Its officers are elected by votes, and not by the 
production of precipitated letters or pictures of 
any sort. It generally elects those who do its 
work, and not outsiders who masquerade as re- 
cipients of directions from the abode of departed 
souls. It is not likely to request proposed offi- 
cers to produce documents... brought forth 
at mediumistic séances before the wondering 
eyes of untrained witnesses. ... 

Fifth. Mr. Foulke’s possession of any num- 
ber of letters written by Mme. Blavatsky prior 
to her demise, offering him ‘‘leadership’’ or 
‘“succession,’’ might please and interest himself, 
but can have no other effect on the corporate 
body of the Society. Let him preserve them or 
otherwise as he may see fit; they are utterly 
without bearing or even authority, and if in ex- 
istence would only serve to show that she in her 
lifetime may have given him a chance to do 
earnest sincere work for a Society she had at 
heart and that he neglected the opportunity, 
passing his time in idle, fantastic day-dreams. 

Yours truly, 
WiuiaMm Q. JupcE, 
Gen. See’y American Sec. 


In the ‘‘Supplement’’ to The Theosophist for April, 
1892, Col. Olcott paid his compliments to the ‘‘successor- 
ship’’ idea in the following paragraph, printed under 
the title, ‘‘H.P.B.’s Ghost’’: 


A rubbishing report is circulating to the ef- 
fect that H.P.B. chose Mr. Foulke of Philadel- 


368 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


phia, as her ‘‘Successor,’’ and ratified her act by, 
appearing in a spiritualistic circle and painting 
for him her portrait. As to the picture having 
been painted I say nothing save that it is no 
more improbable than other portrait paintings in 
mediumistic circles: but this does not imply that 
she painted it. And to offset that theory one 
has but to refer back to an old volume of The 
Theosophist to find that she and I, anticipating 
some such nonsense, published our joint decla- 
ration that under no circumstances should we 
visit after death a medium or a circle, and au- 
thorizing our friends to declare false any story 
to the contrary. As for her naming a ‘‘Suc- 
cessor,’’ Beethoven or Edison, Maglhabecchi or 
Milton might just as well declare A, B or C the 
heirs of their genius. Blavatsky nascitur, non 


fit. 
H. 8. 0. 


Mrs. Besant in the ‘‘Watch-Tower’’ of Lucifer, for 
May, 1892, follows up this and her reprint a couple 
of months before of the two letters by Mr. Judge, with 
the following: 


There is a wonderful amount of masquerading 
under the name of H. P. Blavatsky in the post- 
mortem realms, but the various mummers do 
not agree in their presentations. . . . Hach new 
mumming spook claims to be the real and only 
one, and the latest of them claims to be the first 
real appearance, all the others being humbugs. 
With this spook I heartily agree on all points 
save one—that I include itself with the rest. 


In The Path for July, 1892, Mr. Judge has an opening 
editorial article on the subject for the edification of his 
readers. ‘The article is entitled, ‘‘How She Must Laugh.”’ 
We quote: 

Since the demise of H. P. Blavatsky’s body, a 
little over a year ago, mediums in various parts 


H.P.B.’S “SUCCESSORS” 369 


of the world have reported her ‘‘spirit’’ as giv- 
ing communications ... 

Those who communicate these extraordinary 
reports from H.P.B. are not accused by us of 
malice or any improper motive. The first ‘‘mes- 
sage’’ came privately from one who had known 
her in life but whose views were always quite 
in line with the message. The others represent 
the different private opinions of the medium or 
clairvoyant reporting them. Such is nearly al- 
ways the case with these ‘‘spirit messages.’’ 
They do, indeed, come from psychic planes, and 
are not strictly the product of the medium’s nor- 
mal brain. But they are the result of obscure 
thoughts of the medium which color the astral 
atmosphere, and thus do no more than copy the 
living. In one case, and this was the hugest 
joke of all, the medium made a claim to at once 
step into H.P.B.’s shoes and be acknowledged 
the leader of the Society. | 

How she must laugh! Unless mere death may 
change a sage into an idiot, she is enjoying these 
jokes, for she had a keen sense of humor, and 
as it is perfectly certain that Theosophists are 
not at all disturbed by these ‘‘communications,’’ 
her enjoyment of the fun is not embittered by 
the idea that staunch old-time Theosophists are 
being troubled. But what a fantastical world 
it is with its Materialists, Spiritualists, Chris- 
tians, Jews, and other barbarians as well as the 
obscure Theosophists. 


Although H.P.B.’s position in regard to ‘‘succes- 
sion’? was made known in the very beginning of her 
mission, and although Mrs. Besant and Col. Olcott, fol- 
lowing Mr. Judge, put their views on record in full ac- 
cord, as shown by the foregoing quotations, we shall find 
that the ghost of ‘‘apostolic succession’’ was raised again 
within less than three years. It, together with the other 
events we have been recounting, and Col, Oleott’s ‘‘Old 


370 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


Diary Leaves,’’ supplied the necessary groundwork and 
material on and out of which was fabricated the ‘‘ Judge 
ease.’’ Until all these connected and connecting events 
are co-ordinated in the mind of the student like the fea- 
tures of a map he will be unable to trace intelligently 
the divergent courses soon to be taken by the various 
‘‘nilerims’’; unable to understand the débdcle which 
befell the Society; unable to solve the mystery of the 
confusions and contradictions in the Theosophical world 
of today; unable to find and follow the ‘‘straight and 
narrow path’’ of the true Theosophical Movement; un- 
able to do his part in restoring the work of the Move- 
ment to its pristine unity and purity. 

‘Old Diary Leaves’’ was begun by Col. Olcott in The 
Theosophist for March, 1892. Its commencement was, 
therefore, coincident in time and occasion with the issue 
of the ‘‘worship’’ of H.P.B., with the issue of ‘‘dogma- 
tism in the T.S.’’ and ‘‘the neutrality of the T.S.,’’ with 
the issue of the relation of the Esoteric School to the 
T.S., and with Col. Olcott’s resignation as President of 
the Society. This prolonged series of personal reminis- 
cences was continued from month to month in The The- 
osophist, with occasional brief interruptions, until the 
death of Col. Olcott in 1907. Thus during fifteen years 
a steady stream of autobiographical articles flowed 
through the pages of the oldest and most widely circu- 
lated of the Theosophical magazines and the only official 
organ of the Society; articles written by the man who 
had from the beginning been the President of the So- 
ciety and who, after the death of Mr. Judge in 1896, 
was the sole survivor of the original three Founders. 
‘‘Old Diary Leaves’’ is written in an easy, lucid, and 
interesting style; it abounds in personal recollections of 
H.P.B.; it overflows with stories of marvelous and 
mysterious phenomena; it deals graphically with the 
human and anecdotal side of the various actors in the 
Society’s life—a side purposely ignored in all the writ- 
ings of H.P.B. and W. Q. Judge. No one who has 
studied the life and writings of Col. Olcott can doubt 
his honesty, his frankness, his sincerity—the admirable 


“OLD DIARY LEAVES” 371 


qualities, in short, which make up the charm of human 
nature. And certainly no genuine chela, or even Pro- 
bationer of the Second Section, can ever fail to sympa- 
thize with him in his struggles with those elements of 
human nature which are the real foes of every aspirant 
in Occultism. That he failed in the supreme trials of 
the neophyte does not dishonor nor militate against his 
real virtues, nor render less the debt which every Theoso- 
phist must gladly acknowledge to him for his great sacri- 
fices and services. The final test of character, however, 
is not in the strength, but in the weaknesses of the candi- 
date, and history is filled with the record of those whose 
defects became the axis for the overthrow of all that 
they labored mightily to achieve. 

For nearly twenty-five years ‘‘Old Diary Leaves”’ 
has been read by Theosophists and others of the pres- 
ent generation. Its statements have been accepted with- 
out question by most students, and their views in re- 
spect to Madame H. P. Blavatsky, Mr. W. Q. Judge, and 
many others have been colored and formed by the opin- 
ions of Col. Olcott and those whose interest it was to 
support them. [Few indeed have taken thought or trou- 
ble to submit the different actors and exponents in The- 
osophical history to any critical examination. Yet the 
criteria of correct judgment are not difficult to ascertain 
or to apply. Most judgments are formed upon hearsay, 
and that testimony is almost always accepted with least 
question which is most conformable to the interest or 
the nature of the would-be judge. Seldom is any witness 
subjected to the test of the comparison of his different 
statements on the same subjects, let alone their com- 
parison with the statements of others; still more rarely 
are the motive and animus of a witness subjected to 
scrutiny. Yet the whole course of human jurisprudence 
has shown that unless these and other precautions are 
rigidly observed the judgment is certain to be misled 
and a false verdict reached. Just as a biased attitude 
may, and but too often does, exist in the would-be judge 
unconsciously to himself, so it may and often does exist 
in a witness otherwise candid and sincere, and this is 


372 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


pre-eminently the case with Col. Olcott; so pre-emi- 
nently that it requires but casual comparison of his 
various statements to see that Col. Olcott is anything 
but a dependable witness; the more untrustworthy be- 
cause his very honesty and frankness tend to lead the 
reader astray as the Colonel was himself led. 

When he began the writing of ‘‘Old Diary Leaves,’’ 
he was more than sixty years of age, broken in health, 
deeply wounded in his feelings over the charges which 
caused him to offer his resignation; over the apparent 
ingratitude with which his lifelong services had been 
rewarded; over the loss of an official pre-eminence and 
prerogative dear to his heart; over the seeming uncon- 
cern with which his resignation was received by Theoso- 
phists at large; and dejected in spirit by the prospect 
of being speedily forgotten and replaced in the esteem 
of the members by younger colleagues who had hardly 
received a wound while he was rejected for the very 
scars he had suffered in their service. He could but too 
easily vision H.P.B. placed on a pedestal and himself 
neglected in his old age, destined to an equally neglected 
memory. He could but too easily see Mr. Judge elected 
his sueccessor—Judge who was but a boy while he was 
bearing the brunt of battle—and receiving the acclaim 
and honors made possible by his own sacrifices. His 
memory, never dependable, as he himself often declared, 
became a quicksand as the years progressed and the 
storms broke upon his beloved Society. He was in his 
seventy-fifth year when the last instalment of ‘‘Old Diary 
Leaves’’ was written—and the last ten years of his life 
were doubly embittered; embittered by the private con- 
tumely and neglect of those who had used him as their 
tool; embittered by the perception too late of his colossal 
blunders, which yet he had not the strength and stamina 
publicly to acknowledge, though he did so in private 
to the one of the early years most loved by him, and 
most loyal to him through all his divagations.> These 


°See The Word for October, 1915, article ‘‘Colonel Olcott: a Reminis- 
cence.’’ The anonymous writer was in fact Mrs. Laura Langford (Mrs. 
L. C. Holloway) one of the two authors of ‘‘Man: Fragment of Forgotten 
History.’’ 


“OLD DIARY LEAVES” 373 


things being recognized, justice can be done to his col- 
leagues and to the ‘‘true history of the Theosophical 
Society’? without doing injustice to Henry 8. Olcott. 
Until even justice is done to all, how can the work of 
the Theosophical Movement be restored? And how can 
that justice be done except in the spirit of the Preface 
of ‘‘Isis Unveiled’’? The investigator must proceed ‘‘in 
all sincerity; he must do even justice, and speak the 
truth alike without malice or prejudice; he must show 
neither mercy for enthroned error, nor reverence for 
usurped authority. He must demand for a spoliated 
past, that credit for its achievements which has been too 
long withheld. He must call for a restitution of bor- 
rowed robes, and the vindication of glorious but calum- 
niated reputations.”’ 

‘Old Diary Leaves,’’ after serial publication in The 
Theosophist during three years, were issued in book form 
in 1895. This first volume contains a ‘‘ Foreword’’ espe- 
cially written by Col. Olcott. His real motives in writ- 
ing his reminiscences are there for the first time publicly 
acknowledged—motives entirely unknown and unsus- 
pected by Theosophical students during their magazine 
publication. He says: 


The controlling impulse to prepare these pa- 
pers was a desire to combat a growing tendency 
within the Society to deify Mme. Blavatsky, and 
to give her commonest literary productions a 
quasi-inspirational character. Her transparent 
faults were being blindly ignored, and the pinch- 
beck screen of pretended authority drawn be- 
tween her actions and legitimate criticism. 
Those who had least of her actual confidence, 
and hence knew least of her private character, 
were the greatest offenders in this direction. It 
was but too evident that unless I spoke out what 
I alone knew, the true history of our movement 
could never be written, nor the actual merit of 
my wonderful colleague become known. In these 
pages I have, therefore, told the truth about her 


374 


For contrast one has but to turn to the Henry S. Ol- 
eott of the summer of 1891, immediately after the death 
of H.P.B. Lucfer for August 15 of that year con- 
tains a long memorial article by Col. Olcott, entitled 


THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


and about the beginnings of the Society—truth 
which nobody can gainsay. . . . I have pursued 
my present task to its completion, despite the 
fact that some of my most influential colleagues 
have, from what I consider mistaken loyalty 
to ‘‘H.P.B.,’’ secretly tried to destroy my influ- 
ence, ruin my reputation, reduce the circulation 
of my magazine, and prevent the publication of 
my book. ... 

.. . Karma forbid that I should do her a 
featherweight of injustice, but if there ever ex- 
isted a person in history who was a greater con- 
glomeration of good and bad, light and shadow, 
wisdom and indiscretion, spiritual sight and 
lack of common sense, I cannot recall the name, 
the circumstances or the epoch. 


‘‘H.P.B.’s Departure.’’ We quote: 


... There is no one to replace Helena Pe- 
trovna, nor can she ever be forgotten. Others 
have certain of her gifts, none has them all. 
.. . Her life, as I have known it these past 
seventeen years, as friend, colleague and col- 
laborator, has been a tragedy, the tragedy of a 
martyr-philanthropist. Burning with zeal for 
the spiritual welfare and intellectual enfran- 
chisement of humanity, moved by no selfish in- 
spiration, giving herself freely and without price 
to her altruistic work, she has been hounded to 
her death-day, by the slanderer, the bigot and 
the Pharisee. . . . In temperament and abilities 
as dissimilar as any two persons could well be, 
and often disagreeing radically in details, we 
have yet been of one mind and heart as regards 
the work in hand and in our reverent allegiance 


“OLD DIARY LEAVES” 375 


to our Teachers and Masters, its pianners and 
overlookers. We both knew them personally, 
she a hundred times more intimately than I. 
. . . She was pre-eminently a double-selfed per- 
sonality, one of them very antipathetic to me 
and some others. ... One seeing us together 
would have said I had her fullest confidence, yet 
the fact is that, despite seventeen years of in- 
timacy in daily work, she was an enigma to me 
to the end. Often I would think I knew her per- 
fectly, and presently discover that there were 
deeper depths in her selfhood I had not sounded. 
I could never find out who she was, not as Helena 
Petrovna,... but as ‘‘H.P.B.,’’ the mysteri- 
ous individuality which wrote, and worked 
wonders. ... 

We had each our department of work—hers 
the mystical, mine the practical. In her line, 
she infinitely excelled me and every other of her 
colleagues. I have no claim at all to the title 
of metaphysician, nor to anything save a block 
of very humble knowledge. ... 

.. . She knew the bitterness and gloom of 
physical life well enough, often saying to me that 
her true existence only began when nightly she 
had put her body to sleep and went out of it to 
the Masters. I can believe that, from often 
sitting and watching her from across the table, 
when she was away from the body, and then 
when she returned from her soul-flight and re- 
sumed occupancy, aS one might call it. When 
she was away the body was like a darkened 
house, when she was there it was as though the 
windows were brilliant with lights within. One 
who had not seen this change, cannot under- 
stand why the mystic calls his physical body, a 
‘“shadow.’’ 


Here are two violently contradictory opinions of 
H.P.B.—both of them from the pen of Col. Olcott. It 


376 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


is certain that H.P.B. had not changed from 1891 to 
1895; what caused the change in Col. Oleott, and which 
of his opposed utterances is the more nearly accurate, 
the more expressive of the highest and best in him? 
The one view is the view expressed by the Master Him- 
self in the letter written Col. Olcott in the early fall of 
1888, the view consistently held by Mr. Judge, and con- 
sistently supported by the best evidence of all—the evi- 
dence furnished by the life and teachings of H. P. Bla- 
vatsky. The other view is the view of the S.P.R., of 
Mrs. Cables, of Mr. Hume, of Prof. Coues, of Miss Mabel 
Collins, of Mr. A. P. Sinnett. Colonel Olcott, like many 
another, had every opportunity to know the ‘‘real 
H.P.B.,’’ and the world and the students took it for 
eranted that he did know. 

It is curious, and at this point of related value, to 
turn to two quotations from ‘‘Old Diary Leaves.’’ They 
may afford the intuitional student a hint on some of 
the mysteries and methods of true Occultism, and serve 
at the same time to show how little able Col. Olcott 
was to avail himself of the rare opportunities his serv- 
ices brought him. Chapter XVI of the first volume of 
‘‘Old Diary Leaves’’ discusses the mystery of H.P.B. 
and, amidst a mass of Col. Olcott’s speculations inter- 
spersed with the alleged facts recited, makes certain 
highly significant statements. But first it should be 
noted that Chapter XIV propounds seven distinct hy- 
potheses to try to ‘‘explain’’ H.P.B., and it and the 
following chapter are devoted to trying to make the 
facts fit one or another of these theories of the Colo- 
nel’s. The mere fact that he submits seven theories 
should show anyone that however fertile Col. Olcott’s 
imagination in trying to resolve the mystery, it was a 
mystery, and one he was unable to solve. Finally, in 
Chapter XVI he gives the two incidents spoken of. He 
says that one summer evening just after dinner in New 
York days and while it was still early twilight, he was 
standing by the mantel while H.P.B. sat by one of the 
front windows. Then: 


“OLD DIARY LEAVES” 377 


I heard her say ‘‘Look and learn’’; and 
glancing that way, saw a mist rising from her 
head and shoulders. Presently it defined itself 
into the likeness of one of the Mahatmas.... 
Absorbed in watching the phenomenon, I stood 
silent and motionless. The shadowy shape only 
formed for itself the upper half of the torso, and 
then faded away and was gone; whether re-ab- 
sorbed into H.P.B.’s body or not, I do not 
know. . . . When J asked her to explain the phe- 
nomenon she refused, saying that it was for me 
to develop my intuition so as to understand the 
phenomena of the world I lived in. All she could 
do was to help in showing me things and let me 
make of them what I could. 


This incident is recited by Col. Olcott to suggest ‘‘that 
H.P.B.’s body became, at times, occupied by other enti- 
ties.’’ It seems not to have occurred to him at all that 

perhaps he was being afforded a glimpse of the ‘‘real 

H.P.B.,’’ nor was he, who asked her for an explanation, 
able to relate the experience with which he was favored 
to the true rationale of its exhibition, given in the twelfth 
chapter of the second volume of ‘‘Isis Unveiled’’ in 
one of the numbered paragraphs. All he saw was a very 
wonderful phenomenon, and all he was able to make of 
it was a new speculation. So absolutely engrossed was 
he at all times in gratifying his thirst for phenomena 
and in speculations on their nature that he never had 
time or inclination to try to see if her explanations of 
their nature and rationale might not afford the very 
solution he was so desirous of gaining. 

In Chapter XVII, he follows with an incident of a year 
or two later and sees no connection! He is telling of 
some of the communications he received from the Mas- 
ters. He says: 


One quite long letter that I received in 1879 
[from one of the Masters], most strangely alters 


378 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


her sex, speaks of her im the male gender, and 
confounds her with the Mahatma “‘M’”’... It 
says—about a first draft of the letter itself which 
had been written but not sent me: ‘‘Owing to 
certain expressions therein, the letter was 
stopped on its way by order of our Brother 
H.P.B. Ag you are not under my direct guid- 
ance but his (hers), we have naught to say, 
either of us’’; etc. And again: ‘‘Our Brother 
H.P.B. rightly remarked .. .’’ ete. 


One may compare the foregoing with the remark of 
the Master ‘‘K. H.’’ in his letter of 1888 to Col. Olcott: 
‘‘The personality known as H.P.B. to the world (but 
otherwise to us).’’ 

Still another most interesting sidelight on the ‘‘mys- 
tery of H.P.B.’’ and of Occultism in general, may be 
found in Lucifer for October 15, 1888 (the month of the 
public announcement of the Esoteric Section). There 
a correspondent makes some ‘‘Pertinent Queries’’ in re- 
gard to statements in Mr. Sinnett’s ‘‘Eisoteric Budd- 
hism.’’ In the ‘‘Editor’s Answer’’ to these pertinent 
queries H.P.B. takes occasion to make some remarks 
regarding the Masters. She says (italics ours) : 


... among the group of Initiates to which 
his [Mr. Sinnett’s] own mystical correspondent 
[‘‘K. H.’’] is allied, are two of European race, 
and that one who is that Teacher’s superior 
[the Master ‘‘M’’] zs also of that origin, being 
half a Slavonian in his ‘‘present incarnation,”’ 
as he himself wrote to Colonel Olcott in New 
York. 


Just why H.P.B. should put the phrase ‘‘present 
incarnation’’ in quotes is worth some intuitional effort, 
as is also the fact that ‘‘H. P. B.’’ was herself precisely 
and exactly ‘‘half a Slavonian’’ in her then ‘‘ present 
incarnation.’’ 

One word more: Col. Olcott’s ‘‘faith’’ in H.P.B., in 
Masters, in Theosophy, rested upon exactly the same 


“OLD DIARY LEAVES” 379 


basis as his ‘‘faith’’ in Spiritualism during the preced- 
ing twenty years. That basis was phenomena—not 
philosophy, logic, ethics, altruism. ‘‘Old Diary Leaves”’ 
shows this on nearly every page. His memorial article 
above quoted from so states specifically. When this is 
recognized his vagaries can be understood, his failures 
overlooked, his misjudgments forgiven, his misconcep- 
tions allowed for, and the solid value of his services to 
the Society and to Buddhism given generous tribute. 


CHAPTER XXIV 


CONTROVERSY OVER H.P.B.’S STATUS AS AGENT OF THE 
MASTERS 


By the spring of 1893 the internal situation of the 
Society was fast approaching a climax paralleling that 
of 1888, and, as in the earlier case, it occurred con- 
temporaneously with a flood-tide of external interest 
and prosperity. ‘‘Old Diary Leaves’’ was steadily un- 
dermining the reverence and respect of the members for 
H.P.B. as a Teacher, by representing her as a mere 
thaumaturgist. The theories and speculations to account 
for her phenomena, the vagaries of character and habits 
attributed to her, could only lead to the inference that, 
however gifted in some ways, she was but an irresponsi- 
ble medium, not a Messenger direct from the great 
Lodge of Masters. This constant stream of belittle- 
ment by the President-Founder of the Society who was 
generally considered as her most intimate friend and 
associate was not less injurious to her Occult status than 
that of the Psychical Research Society in its celebrated 
Report. The Letter of the Masrnr, ‘‘K. H.,’’? phenome- 
nally delivered to Col. Olcott on shipboard in the early 
autumn of 1888, at a time when he was harboring and ex- 
pressing the same feelings and views, was forgotten or 
lost sight of, and H.P.B. was more and more coming to be 
regarded by many members as at best an uncertain chan- 
nel between the Masters and the world; a channel to 
be utilized under reserve, if not to be scrutinized with 
actual doubt and suspicion. Now that she was dead, even 
that questionable link was severed and the members, 
left to themselves, were peculiarly open to suggestion 
and direction. To whom should they look if not to the 
President-Founder? And when they were offered his 
views, clothed with official authority, expressed with 

380 


CONTROVERSY OVER H.P.B. 381 


the utmost candor, sincerity and good faith, what more 
natural than the deductions that the Society was of far 
more importance than a Philosophy derived through a 
questionable source; phenomena more valuable than 
study; propaganda more necessary than altruism? 
What more natural than the inference that the living 
President-Founder was now, and always had been, the 
real mainstay of the Movement and of the Society? 

What was Mr. Judge to do in these circumstances? 
If he held his peace, the Society and the membership 
were certain to be irremediably led astray from the 
prime Objects proclaimed insistently by the Masrsrs, 
by H.P.B. and himself. Should he permit the lines of 
Teaching, of policy and of practice laid down by H.P.B. 
to be swept aside and himself join in building up a great 
organization with purely utilitarian and exoteric aims? 
Or should he do as she had done in 1888—hold to the 
‘‘lines laid down’’ regardless of all else that might be- 
fall? For now, even more than in 1888, the whole ten- 
dency in the Society was to achieve a great public suc- 
cess, while in the Esoteric School an increasing per- 
centage of the members were avid to convert it into a 
‘hall of Occultism,’’ and were pursuing the ‘‘Third Ob- 
ject’’ to the exclusion of all else. Was H.P.B. to become 
a mere memory, the Mastrers an empty and far-off inac- 
cessible abstraction, T'HEosopHy secondary to the The- 
osophical Society, and that Theosophy to be twisted, per- 
verted, corrupted, by the interpretations of students, the 
‘‘fresh revelations’’ of the horde of psychics and ‘‘oc- 
cultists’? who were already proclaiming their ‘‘succes- 
sorship’’ to H.P.B. and delivering ‘‘messages from 
the Masters of H.P.B.’’ in contradiction to what she 
had taught and exemplified? 

The great issues at stake must have given him pause, 
and he must have realized that in entering the lists in 
defense of the Teachings and Mission of H.P.B. he 
was inviting a far more unequal combat than any she 
had ever brought upon her devoted head. For H.P.B. 
had had the prestige of a pioneer, the philosophy she 
had recorded was her standing witness; her phenomena, 


382 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


however misrepresented, were none the less irrevocably 
attested by the very ones who now sought to usurp her 
robes; and she had had at all times devoted defenders— 
Judge foremost of all. But Mr. Judge was now alone; 
he had been purposely kept in obscurity during the first 
ten-year cycle of the Society’s life; he was little known 
to the membership at large outside the United States; 
he was without literary or oratorical or official reputa- 
tion; he had at all times sustained and defended the 
President-Founder as strongly in his place as he had 
H.P.B. in hers. He was of necessity a thorn in the 
side of all those who sought to profit the Society and 
themselves by ignoring or minimizing the unique status 
of H.P.B.—who were equally ready to treat her as an 
asset or a liability, as might best serve their purposes. 
What was Mr. Judge to do? 

Under date of March, 1898, he issued to the Amer- 
ican members of the ES. a circular entitled ‘‘We Have 
Not Been Deserted.’’ He wrote: 


It is very proper to answer the question 
which has come to many, expressed or unex- 
pressed, whether since the death of H.P.B.’s 
body the E.S.T. has been in communication with 
the Masters who ordered her to start the 
Litre bal beer? bay 

We have not been deserted at all, and the 
Masters have all along been watching and aid- 
ing. They have communicated with several of 
those who by nature are fit; those who have 
made themselves fit; and with those who are, 
by peculiar Karma, in the line of such com- 
munication. None of these messages go by fa- 
vor or by the desire of some to have them. . . 

There are in the School certain persons known 
to me who have been in communication with the 
Masters for some time, but they do not know 
each other, and have never by word or sign given 
out the fact. ... In America the line of com- 
munication is not ruptured. It is true that it is 


CONTROVERSY OVER H.P.B. 


not as strong as it was when H.P.B. was here, 
but we cannot expect always to have the same 
amount of force working, for there is a law, 
based on cycles, which requires such line of 
force to be stopped or weakened now and then. 
The stoppage however is never total, but at cer- 
tain periods it is confined to the few. We have 
the misfortune to know that at one time many of 
the Masters were publicly at’ work here in our 
early years and that the opportunity for us was 
missed by reason of the materialistic and natu- 
ralistic tendencies of the day and of our edu- 
cation. Our missing it did not, however, prevent 
the doing by those personages of the work in 
hand. A more narrow confinement of these lines 
of action and communication will come at a later 
day, strictly in accord with the laws I have re- 
ferred to. But we have only to do our duty and 
to work for the future so as to be able to return 
to the work at a better time in some other life. 
Within the last nine months some communica- 
tions have been received from the Masters 
bearing on the general work, for they have 
ceased (as by rule) to deal much in personal 
concerns, but They do not fail to help in the 
real and right way the efforts of all members 
who sincerely work for others. Those who are 
at work for their own benefit will meet with the 
exact result of such a line of action, that is, they 
will not go far and will lose much at death 
which is sure to come to us all. But unselfish 
work makes the effect sink down into each one’s 
own nature and therefore preserves it all. 
Furthermore, some years ago the Masters said 
that in the course of time I should see that cer- 
tain facts had to come out. Some of these I 
now give, and shall give them in The Path pub- 
licly. First, the Masters both certified in writ- 
ing, about 1884, that the Secret Doctrine was 
dictated by them to H. P. B., she only using 


374 


For contrast one has but to turn to the Henry S. Ol- 
eott of the summer of 1891, immediately after the death 
of H.P.B. Lucifer for August 15 of that year con- 
tains a long memorial article by Col. Olcott, entitled 


THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


and about the beginnings of the Society—truth 
which nobody can gainsay. . . . I have pursued 
my present task to its completion, despite the 
fact that some of my most influential colleagues 
have, from what I consider mistaken loyalty 
to ‘‘H.P.B.,’’ secretly tried to destroy my influ- 
ence, ruin my reputation, reduce the circulation 
of my magazine, and prevent the publication of 
my book.... 

.. . Karma forbid that I should do her a 
featherweight of injustice, but if there ever ex- 
isted a person in history who was a greater con- 
glomeration of good and bad, light and shadow, 
wisdom and indiscretion, spiritual insight and 
lack of common sense, I cannot recall the name, 
the circumstances or the epoch. 


‘CH.P.B.’s Departure.’’ We quote: 


... There is no one to replace Helena Pe- 
trovna, nor can she ever be forgotten. Others 
have certain of her gifts, none has them all. 
... Her life, as I have known it these past 
seventeen years, as friend, colleague and col- 
laborator, has been a tragedy, the tragedy of a 
martyr-philanthropist. Burning with zeal for 
the spiritual welfare and intellectual enfran- 
chisement of humanity, moved by no selfish in- 
spiration, giving herself freely and without price 
to her altruistic work, she has been hounded to 
her death-day, by the slanderer, the bigot and 
the Pharisee. . . . In temperament and abilities 
as dissimilar as any two persons could well be, 
and often disagreeing radically in details, we 
have yet been of one mind and heart as regards 
the work in hand and in our reverent allegiance 


“OLD DIARY LEAVES” 375 


to our Teachers and Masters, its planners and 
overlookers. We both knew them personally, 
she a hundred times more intimately than I. 
. . . She was pre-eminently a double-selfed per- 
sonality, one of them very antipathetic to me 
and some others. ... One seeing us together 
would have said I had her fullest confidence, yet 
the fact is that, despite seventeen years of in- 
timacy in daily work, she was an enigma to me 
to the end. Often I would think I knew her per- 
fectly, and presently discover that there were 
deeper depths in her selfhood I had not sounded. 
I could never find out who she was, not as Helena 
Petrovna, ..... but as ‘SH.P:B;,’”) the mysteri- 
ous individuality which wrote, and worked 
wonders. ... 

We had each our department of work—hers 
the mystical, mine the practical. In her line, 
she infinitely excelled me and every other of her 
colleagues. I have no claim at all to the title 
of metaphysician, nor to anything save a block 
of very humble knowledge. ... 

.. . She knew the bitterness and gloom of 
physical life well enough, often saying to me that 
her true existence only began when nightly she 
had put her body to sleep and went out of it to 
the Masters. I can believe that, from often 
sitting and watching her from across the table, 
when she was away from the body, and then 
when she returned from her soul-flight and re- 
sumed occupancy, as one might call it. When 
she was away the body was like a darkened 
house, when she was there it was as though the 
windows were brilliant with lights within. One 
who had not seen this change, cannot under- 
stand why the mystic calls his physical body, a 
‘“shadow.”’ 


Here are two violently contradictory opinions of 
H.P.B.—both of them from the pen of Col. Olcott. It 


386 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


‘‘Tf this can be of any help to 
though I doubt it, I, the humble undersigned 
Faquir, certify that the Secret Doctrine 1s 
dictated to (name of H.P.B.), partly by. my- 
self and partly by my brother ————_. 


A year after this certain doubts having arisen 
in the minds of individuals, another letter from 
one of the signers of the foregoing was sent and 
reads as follows. As the prophecy in it has come 
true, it is now the time to publish it for the 
benefit of those who know something of how to 
take and understand such letters. For the out- 
side it will all be so much nonsense. 


‘<The certificate given last year saying that 
the Secret Doctrme would be when finished 
the triple production of (H.P.B.’s name), 
—————,, and myself was and is correct, al- 
though some have doubted not only the facts 
given in it but also the authenticity of the 
message in which it was contained. Copy this 
and also keep the copy of the aforesaid certifi- 
cate. You will find them both of use on the 
day when you shall, as will happen without 
your asking, receive from the hands of the 
very person to whom the certificate was given, 
the original for the purpose of allowing you 
to copy it; and you can then verify the cor- 
rectness of this presently forwarded copy .. . 
All this and more will be found necessary as 
time goes on, but for which you are well 
qualified to wait.’’ 


The first two certificates reproduced in the above arti- 
cle were originally sent to Dr. Hubbe-Schleiden, a well- 
known German savant, who had been intensely inter- 
ested in the phenomena and teachings of H.P.B. but 
who, like so many others, found it difficult to understand 
or accept her explanations of them and their source; 


CONTROVERSY OVER H.P.B. 387 


and who consequently wavered between the theories of 
mediumship and chicanery to account for them. His 
own statement in regard to the facts and his expression 
of opinion in regard to them will be found in a com- 
munication over his own signature embodied in the 
Countess Wachtmeister’s ‘‘Reminiscences of H. P. Bla- 
vatsky and the ‘Secret Doctrine,’ ’’ the original edition 
of whieh was issued at London, late in 1893, six months 
after the publication in The Path from which we have 
been quoting. 

The same number of The Path which contained the 
article on the authorship of the ‘‘Secret Doctrine’’— 
April, 1893—also contained the third of a series of arti- 
cles on the ‘‘Karth-Chain of Globes,’’ to which attention 
was directed in the E.S.T. Circular quoted from. The 
articles, and others on related subjects, were signed 
‘‘Wiliam Brehon,’’ another of the pen names used by 
Mr. Judge. These articles were written because of the 
fact that Mr. Sinnett and others sharing his views were 
once more actively promulgating the theories of planetary 
and human evolution originally presented by him in 
‘‘Hisoteric Buddhism’’—theories and interpretations to 
the correction of which H.P.B. had devoted many pages 
in the ‘‘Secret Doctrine.’’ Mr. Sinnett, without recant- 
ing or seeking to reconcile his views with those ex- 
pounded by H.P.B., had, nevertheless, after a some- 
what ironical communication to Lucifer! remained 
quiescent until after her death. Encouraged, perhaps, 
by the note struck in ‘‘Old Diary Leaves,’’ his London 
Lodge had resumed its public activities and Mr. Sinnett 
had been privately expressing the opinion that H.P.B. 
had, in her later years, been ‘‘under other influences than 
those of the Masters.’’ In particular, a ‘‘Transaction of 
the London Lodge, No. 17,’’ had just been issued, giving 
a paper by Mr. W. Scott Elliott on ‘‘The Evolution of 
Humanity.’’ This ‘‘Transaetion”’’ not only continued the 
grossly materialistic conception of the ‘‘planetary 


*Mr. Sinnett’s communication, and H.P.B.’s notes thereon, will be 
found in Lucifer for November, 1888, p. 247 et seq., under the caption, 
‘* ¢Hsoteric Buddhism’ and the ‘Secret Doctrine.’ ’’ We know of nothing 
more illustrative of the contrasted spirit of H.P.B. and her critics. 


888 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


chains’’ promulgated by ‘‘ Esoteric Buddhism,’’ but went 
still farther in that it announced, in terms which could 
not. be otherwise interpreted than as claiming to be ‘‘on 
the authority of the Masters,’’ the specific ‘‘facts’’ that 
Mars was the last planet inhabited by our humanity, 
Mercury is to be the next, and Europe will be destroyed 
by fire in ‘‘about 18,000 years.’’ These ‘‘facts’’ are ac- 
companied by the statement that much of the contents 
of the ‘‘Transaction’’ are ‘‘given out to the world for 
the first time.’’ The confusions thus inaugurated were 
added to by the fact that The Path for June, 1893, con- 
tained an enthusiastic commendation of this ‘‘Transac- 
tion’’ in a review signed with the initials ‘‘A. F.’’ This 
was the signature of Alexander Fullerton, formerly an 
Episcopalian clergyman, who had become greatly inter- 
ested in Theosophy, had relinquished his clerical profes- 
sion and had volunteered his services to the American 
Section. As he was highly educated, an excellent writer 
and speaker, his services had been gladly availed of. 
He acted as Secretary for Mr. Judge, edited the Forum, 
a Sectional publication devoted to questions and answers 
on Theosophy, lectured frequently before the Aryan 
Lodge in New York City, contributed many signed arti- 
cles to The Path, attended to much of the heavy volume 
of correspondence coming to The Path office and the 
Sectional headquarters, and was generally regarded 
throughout the American Section as Mr. Judge’s ‘‘right 
hand man.’’ Mr. Fullerton had been in India, was very 
fond of Col. Olcott, and had conceived an enormous ad- 
miration for Mrs. Besant and Mr. Sinnett. He had been 
the pastor of ‘‘Jasper Niemand’’ through whom he had 
become interested in Theosophy and through whom he 
became connected with the work. He retained many of 
the characteristics of the typical minister, and was very 
sensitive, not to say jealous, of his own importance. His 
review of the London Lodge Transaction, then, coming 
as it did in connection with the other matters mentioned, 
caused great rejoicing in some quarters, and in others 
raised the presumption that Mr. Judge had receded from 


CONTROVERSY OVER H.P.B. 389 


the consistent position hitherto maintained by him in re- 
gard to H.P.B.’s teachings. The situation contained, 
therefore, all the necessary ingredients for a comedy or a 
tragedy. Mr. Judge met it by publishing over his own 
signature a leading editorial in The Path for July, 1893, 
to correct all misconceptions. He wrote: 


In the June PatH there was printed a review 
of a pamphlet issued by the London Lodge T'S., 
and this magazine may perhaps be construed as 
committed to an approval of everything con- 
tained in the pamphlet, although the private 
initials of the reviewer were annexed to the re- 
marks. The pamphlet referred to brings up an 
old dispute which we had thought was settled by 
what is found in The Secret Doctrine... . 
H.P.B., the only person in actual and constant 
communication with the Masters, corrected the 
mistake made by Mr. Sinnett. . . . Her correc- 
tion of the misconception was made upon the 
written authority of the same Masters who 
sent through her the letters on which Hsoteric 
Buddhism was written. 

On the ground of authority in respect to this 
question, about which none of the Theosophical 
writers have any information independent of 
what the Masters have written, we must con- 
clude that the statement in The Secret Doc- 
trine is final. If no other point were involved, 
there would be no necessity for going further 
with the matter, but as the consistency of the en- 
tire philosophy is involved, it is necessary to 
advert again to this subject. 


Mr. Judge then proceeds to take up this question of a 
consistent philosophy and argues in line with the ‘‘Secret 
Doctrine’’ that to assume that Mars and Mercury con- 
stitute a portion of the ‘‘Marth-Chain of Globes’’ is to 
destroy the consistency of the philosophy. In the course 
of his article he uses the significant expression: 


390 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


We do not understand that Mr. Sinnett has 
said that H.P.B. was not reporting the Mas- 
ters ... or that the Masters have denied that 
they hold the above views. 


This article by Mr. Judge placed squarely before the 
members the direct contradiction between the exposi- 
tion of the sevenfold scheme of the universe as presented 
by Mr. Sinnett in ‘‘ Esoteric Buddhism’’ and as set forth 
by H. P. Blavatsky in the ‘‘Secret Doctrine.’’ As both 
presentations ostensibly came from the same source— 
the Masters of Wisdom—it followed that either Mr. 
Sinnett or H.P.B. was in error. And as the subject 
was one on which the generality of members could not 
be assumed to possess any direct knowledge of their 
own, they either must fall into the logical absurdity of 
accepting two mutually destructive hypotheses, or must 
choose between them. He therefore pointed out that on 
the basis of authenticity and authority, H.P.B. must 
be the safer guide and reinforced this point by calling 
attention (1) to the direct messages from the Masrzmrs 
to Dr. Hubbe-Schleiden while the ‘‘Secret Doctrine’’ was 
being written; (2) to the direct message from the Mas- 
ter ‘‘K. H.’’ to Col. Olcott after the ‘‘Secret Doctrine’’ 
was completed—in both cases the messages being to 
recipients who doubted the standing of H.P.B. with the 
Masters. Moreover, in the message to Col. Olcott, under 
circumstances which have already been set out,? the 
Master took occasion to say: 


Since 1885, I have not written, nor caused to 
be written, save through her agency, direct or 
remote, a letter or a line to anybody in Europe 
or America, nor communicated orally with, or 
through, any third party. Theosophsts should 
learn it. You will understand later the signifi- 
cance of this declaration, so keep wt mm mind. 


This letter of the Master’s contained a reference to 
existing conditions at the time it was sent—August, 
7See Chapter IX. 


CONTROVERSY OVER H.P.B. 391 


1888—; to the precedent situation of which they were the 
recrudescence—the Fall of 1884—; and, no less, to the 
then future. Let the reader now turn to Letter IV in the 
book, ‘‘Letters from the Masters of the Wisdom.’’ It 
was sent to Miss Francesca Arundale at the same time 
and place—Elberfeld, Germany, late in 1884—as the two 
certificates mentioned, and forms part of the same mise 
en scene. Except for privately circulated copies, the 
letter to Miss Arundale never became accessible to The- 
osophical students until May, 1910, when it was pub- 
lished in The Theosophist, under the title, ‘‘ Advice from 
a Master.’’ It was copied in The Theosophic Messenger 
for July, 1910, and republished in The Theosophist for 
October, 1917, in the ‘‘Reminiscences’’ of the recipient. 
It was also printed in the Vahan for February, 1912, 
and apparently up to that time Mr. Sinnett did not know 
of its having become’public property. The letter begins 
abruptly: ‘‘The day of the separation is close at hand,”’ 
and contains the most solemn of warnings to the Lon- 
don Lodge, its officers and members, for their departure 
from the lines laid down by the Masters. When Mr. 
Sinnett learned of the publication of the letter he wrote 
to the Vahan a communication which shows how he re- 
garded it. He says: 


I regret its reappearance at this period for 
two reasons. Firstly, it is calculated to give rise 
to misconceptions on the part of those who may 
imagine it to have had a more recent origin, and 
secondly because letters of that kind may excite 
painful impressions among some of their read- 
ers, who may suppose them to be the actual com- 
position throughout of the Masters whose ini- 
tials may be appended to them... . In refer- 
ence to the letter just published I wish em- 
phatically to declare that I do not regard it as 
embodying the ipsissema verba of the Master, 
... though very likely conveying... some 
message which, in substance, he wished to send. 
Some of its ‘‘advice’’ would already have been 


392 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


out of date twenty years ago. It is all the more 
inapplicable to the present time. 


The reader should remember that the letter to Miss 
Arundale was written to her as an officer of the London 
Lodge; that it was sent just after the Coulomb explo- 
sion and when Messrs. Sinnett, Olcott, Massey, and 
many others were full of doubts and suspicions in regard 
to H.P.B.; and, finally at a time when the London Lodge, 
under Mr. Sinnett’s charge, was about to enter upon a 
prolonged period of exclusiveness as regards the pub- 
lic, and devotion to psychical experimentation as re- 
eards its leading members.? 

From the date of that letter till her death in 1891, 
H.P.B. never had anything to do with the London Lodge; 
on the contrary, on her return to England in 1887, the 
Blavatsky Lodge was formed out of members of the 
London Lodge who had remained true to her teachings, 
and the formation of the Blavatsky Lodge was bitterly 
opposed, both by Mr. Sinnett and Col. Olcott. More; 
from the time of that letter to Miss Arundale, Mr. Sin- 
nett believed H.P.B. to be a deliverer of bogus messages 
from the Masters—as we shall show over his own signa- 
ture in its appropriate relation.* After the next year— 
1885—Sinnett and those under his influence tried, 
through mediums, psychics, and sensitives among their 
own number, to obtain ‘‘communications from the Mas- 
rers of H.P.B.!’’ They got ‘‘communications,’’ as any 
séance will yield up communications; hence the warning 
to Olcott in the letter of 1888, for the Master knew that 
Mr. Sinnett’s spurious messages would one day be cited 
in opposition and contradiction to the authoritative state- 
ments of H.P.B.® 


* Many additional messages from the Masters, on the same subjects and 
sent during the same period, are now available to students in ‘‘The 
Mahatma Letters to A. P. Sinnett,’’ compiled by A. Trevor Barker. They 
fully confirm the teachings of H.P.B. and the position taken by Mr. 
Judge in regard to them. 

*See Chapter XXXITI. 

*All this is made amply clear to present-day students by the post- 
humous publication of Mr. Sinnett’s ‘‘Early Days of Theosophy in 
Europe.’’ 


CONTROVERSY OVER H.P.B. 393 


Judge knew in 1893 that this had been going on for 
years and that the time had come to put the member- 
ship on notice; hence the articles quoted. His signed 
editorial in The Path for July, 1893, on ‘‘Mars and Mer- 
cury,’’ was preceded, in the June issue, by another signed 
leading article, entitled ‘‘ Masters, Adepts, Teachers, and 
Disciples,’’ evidently intended to enforce the logical, as 
the July article treated of the authoritative, significance 
of the opposing currents running riot beneath the placid 
surface of the Society’s life. We quote: 


This article is meant for members of the T.S., 
and chiefly for those who keep H.P.B. much in 
mind, whether out of respect and love or from 
fear and envy. Those members who believe that 
such beings as the Masters may exist must come 
to one of two conclusions in regard to H.P.B., 
either that she invented her Masters, who there- 
fore have no real existence, or that she did not 
invent them, but spoke in the names and by the 
orders of such beings. If we say that she in- 
vented the Mahatmas, then, of course, as so 
often said by her, all that she has taught and 
written is the product of her own brain, from 
which we would be bound to conclude that her 
position on the roll of great and powerful per- 
sons must be higher than people have been will- 
ing to place her. But I take it most of us be- 
heve in the truth of her statement that she had 
those teachers whom she called Masters and 
that they are more perfect beings than ordinary 
men. 

The case I briefly wish to deal with, then, 
is this: H.P.B. and her relations to the Mas- 
ters and to us; her books and teachings; the 
general question of disciples or chelas with their 
grades, and whether a high chela would appear 
almost as a Master in comparison to us, includ- 
ing every member from the President down to 
the most recent applicant. 


394 


THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


The last point in the inquiry is extremely im- 
portant, and has been much overlooked by mem- 
bers in my observation. . . . Anidea has become 
quite general that chelas and disciples are all of 
one grade, and that therefore one chela is the 
same as another in knowledge and wisdom. The 
contrary, however, is thetcase. Chelas and disci- 
ples are of many grades, and some of the Adepts 
are themselves the chelas of higher Adepts. 
. . . So much being laid down, we may next ask 
how we are to look at H.P-B. 

In the first place, every one has the right to 
place her if he pleases for himself on the high- 
est plane, because he may not be able to formu- 
late the qualities and nature of those who are 
higher than she was. But taking her own say- 
ings, she was a chela or disciple of the Masters, 
and therefore stood in relation to them as one 
who might be chided or corrected or reproved. 
. .. But looking at her powers exhibited to the 
world, and as to which one of her Masters wrote 
that they had puzzled and astonished the bright- 
est minds of the age, we see that compared with 
ourselves she was an Adept... . 

Now some Theosophists ask if there are other 
letters extant from her Masters in which she is 
called to account, is called their chela, and is 
chided now and then, besides those published. 
Perhaps yes. And what of it? Let them be pub- 
lished by all means, . . . As she has herself pub- 
lished letters ... from the Masters to her in 
which she is called a chela and is chided, it cer- 
tainly cannot matter if we know of others of the 
same sort. For over against all such we have 
common sense, and also the declaration of her 
Masters that she was the sole instrument possi- 
ble for the work to be done, that They sent her 
to do it, and that They approved in general 
all she did. And she was the first direct channel 
to and from the Lodge, and the only one up to 


CONTROVERSY OVER H.P.B. 395 


date through which came the objective presence 
of the Adepts. We cannot ignore the messenger, 
take the message, and laugh at or give scorn to 
the one who brought it tous.... 

There only remains, then, the position taken 
by some and without a knowledge of the rules 
governing in these matters, that chelas some- 
times write messages claimed to be from the 
Masters when they are not. This is an artificial 
position not supportable by law or rule. It is 
due to ignorance of what is and what is not 
chelaship, and also to confusion between grades 
in discipleship. It has been used as to H.P.B. 
The false conclusion has first been made that an 
accepted chela of high grade may become accus- 
tomed to dictation given by the Master and 
then may fall into the false pretense of giving 
something from himself and pretending it is 
from the Master. Itis impossible. The bond in 
her case was not of such a character as to be 
dealt with thus. One instance of it would de- 
stroy the possibility of any more communications 
from the teacher. It may be quite true that pro- 
bationers now and then have imagined them- 
selves as ordered to say so and so, but that is not 
the case of an accepted and high chela who is 
irrevocably pledged, nor anything like it. This 
idea, then, ought to be abandoned; it is absurd, 
contrary to law, to rule, and to what must be the 
case when such relations are established as ex- 
isted between H.P.B. and her Masters. 


This, and the articles on Mars and Mercury, in con- 
nection with a letter of Mr. Judge’s published in Lucifer 
for April, 1893, and to which we shall recur,® precipitated 
what before was concealed, as a catalytic agent produces 
a chemical reaction. Mr. Sinnett was the first to declare 
himself openly, which he did in an article entitled ‘‘ Kso- 
teric Teachings,’’ which he sent to The Path where it ap- 

*See Chapters XX and XXVI. 


396 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


peared in the number for September, 1893. He also sent 
copies to Lucifer, where it appeared in the issue for 
August 15, 1898, and to The Theosophist, in which it ap- 
peared for the month of September, 1893. In each case 
the article was commented on by the editors of the sev- 
eral publications. Mr. Sinnett says: 


Some recent references in The Path to por- 
tions of the original esoteric teachings embodied 
by me in EKsoteric Buddhism seem to call for 
remarks on my part in reply. The line of criti- 
cism in question has culminated in an article 
which appears in The Path for July, entitled 
‘Mars and Mercury.’’ 

.. . The question is one which, on its own | 
merits, will only be of interest within the area 
of serious Theosophic study ; but the controversy 
that has now arisen really involves some of the 
deepest questions affecting the future well-being 
of the Theosophical Society and the progress of 
the movement... . 

For a long time after the publication of 
Esoteric Buddhism the statement concerning 
Mars and Mercury remained unchallenged. It 
scarcely seemed possible that any one imbued 
with respect for the Masters’ teaching could 
challenge it ...4In later years when the 
Secret Doctrine was published by Madame 
Blavatsky, I found to my great surprise that she 
had asserted a new view of the planetary chain, 
altogether at variance with that previously 
given out, .. . On the basis of this declaration 
some Theosophical students have felt bound by 
their loyalty to Madame Blavatsky to put aside 
the earlier teachings of the Masters conveyed 
through myself, and to argue that I misunder- 
stood my instructions. ... The really impor- 
tant point developed by the controversy has to 
do with the question, What was Madame 
Blavatsky’s position really in the occult world, 


CONTROVERSY OVER H.P.B. 397 


and what kind of authority should be attached to 
the writings she has left behind her? 

I hope no one will take the explanation I am 
now forced to give as implying any abandonment 
by me of the position respecting Madame 
Blavatsky I have always maintained. I showed 
in the fragmentary biography I put together at 
her own wish... that she was truly in close 
relations with the great Masters of esoteric 
wisdom. That she was one of their partially ini- 
tiated disciples was also unquestionable for any- 
one who has been in independent touch with the 
realities of the occult world. ... 

It is not my business here to offer hypotheses 
to account for the strange misapprehensions into 
which Madame Blavatsky fell when writing the 
Secret Doctrine, not merely as regards these 
questions of Mars and Mercury, but also in re- 
gard to some other points which have not yet 
attracted attention. That Madame Blavatsky 
was capable of making mistakes when endeavor- 
ing to amplify and expand the occult teaching of 
the Masters is the all-important conclusion to 
which I think all unbiassed minds in the The- 
osophical Society must be brought by a consid- 
eration of the matter under discussion. 


Mr. Sinnett then enters into details and argues in de- 
fense of his interpretations of teachings from the letters 
of the Masters to himself, his questions and the Masters’ 
replies, and says, ‘‘the notion that there could be any 
ambiguity about my question or the answer, in the cir- 
cumstances, is an insult to common sense,—not to speak 
of Adept wisdom.’’ He then adds forthwith the follow- 
ing declaration: 


I am entitled to add that at a very recent date, 
within the last few months since this subject has 
been under discussion, the Master himself in 
communication with me made the following com- 
ment on the situation... . 


398 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


Few persons in touch with the principles of oc- 
cultism will be surprised to hear me quoting 
recent words addressed to me by the Master... . 
During Madame Blavatsky’s lfetime my priv- 
ileges of communication with the Master through 
channels of which she knew nothing were pri- 
vate and personal and I was precluded from 
speaking of them. That prohibition has since 
been removed. ... For many Theosophists, I 
know, Madame Blavatsky represented the 
whole movement. ... For many such persons 
Madame Blavatsky may have been the only 
teacher from which they received occult enlight- 
enment. Immense as is my respect for her at- 
tainments, for her industry and devotion to the 
work she undertook, it is, nevertheless, a fact 
that I myself did not receive my Theosophic 
teaching directly from her, but in the way de- 
scribed; and long before her death my relations 
with the Master were carried on through the in- 
termediation of one of his chelas, quite out- 
side the range of Madame Blavatsky’s con- 
nexions.... 


The student can compare these several statements of 
Mr. Sinnett with the extracts from the Masters’ letters 
from which we have quoted, as well as with the other 
citations from Mr. Judge’s articles, and with statements 
of H.P.B. in the first volume of the ‘‘Secret Doctrine,’’ 
and thus see clearly the gross contradiction, both as to 
facts and relations, between the contrasted positions. 
One pertinent fact should once more be called to the 
student’s attention in reference to Mr. Sinnett’s claim 
of unbroken connection with the Masters. By referring 
to the ‘Occult World,’’ Mr. Sinnett’s earliest book, the 
student can find in a direct quotation from one of the 
Master’s letters at that time (letters sent ‘‘through 
H.P.B.’’) the plain, categorical statement that They will 
not give direct instruction or correction to any one not 
‘“rrevocably pledged.’’ It is a well-known fact in The- 


CONTROVERSY OVER H.P.B. 399 


osophical history not only that Mr. Sinnett was never 
pledged at all to Them, even as a probationary chela, 
but refused to pledge himself even to the probationary 
requirements. His position never was other than that 
of a man of the world who refused to submit himself 
to any obligation of any kind. But he was intensely in- 
terested in phenomena; then, in the idea of Masters, 
and was able to render enormous service to the Society 
and the Movement because of his education, literary abil- 
ity, and standing in India. Hence the letters to him, 
all ‘‘through the agency of H.P.B., direct or remote,’’ 
up to the year 1885, when, having broken away and taken 
a tangent of his own, he received no more coimmuni- 
eations from the Masters of H.P.B.—his messages 
through psychics and mediums to the contrary notwith- 
standing. 

Mr. Judge, following the example set by H.P.B. in 
the earlier controversy, published Mr. Sinnett’s com- 
munication to The Path in full and followed it with an 
article of his own, ‘‘How to Square the Teachings.’’ In 
this article he reviewed Mr. Sinnett’s arguments, treated 
their author with the utmost respect, acknowledged his 
great service to the work of the Movement, but rein- 
forced his own former statements on the controversy 
by stating that he had himself seen the Masters’ letters 
to H.P.B. containing the corrections embodied in the 
‘‘Seeret Doctrine.’?’ Mr. Judge ignored entirely Mr. 
Sinnett’s claims in reference to unbroken communica- 
tions with the Masters, but upheld the integrity of H. 
P.B. as the trustworthy channel, and showed how Mr. 
Sinnett’s misunderstanding of the original teaching came 
about. 

In publishing Mr. Sinnett’s article in Lucifer Mrs. 
Besant prefaced it with a comment of her own, in which 
she deals as kindly with Mr. Sinnett as does Mr. Judge, 
but states her own position unequivocally : 


With regard to H. P. Blavatsky’s position in 
the movement, some of us are quite satisfied to 
know that she was a Chela of one of the Mas- 


400 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


ters, helped and taught by and in constant com- 
munication with Him; for the teaching she 
brought us we are deeply grateful, and we do 
not care to benefit by the message and constantly 
cavil at and find fault with the messenger. Be- 
cause we are not continually ‘‘nagging’’ at and 
belittling her, we are often accused of setting 
her on too lofty a pedestal, of idolizing her, and 
claiming for her infallibility. We do nothing of 
the kind, though we prefer to leave to her ever 
active adversaries the task of pulling her to 
pieces, and we listen in pained silence when 
those who should be her friends put weapons 
against her into her enemies’ hands. For my- 
self, the fire of loving gratitude to her burns 
ever in my heart, and while I recognize that she 
most probably made some errors in her writings, 
I recognize also that she knew far more than I 
do, that her teaching is invaluable to me, and 
that until I stand in knowledge where she stood 
any criticism by me is likely to be full of 
blunders. 

Touching Mars and Mercury, each must de- 
cide for himself, if he feels it necessary to come 
to a decision. Having no personal knowledge 
on the subject, I am obliged to judge from gen- 
eral considerations. In any doubtful matter I 
prefer to follow H. P. Blavatsky’s teachings, 
and in this particular case it is more congruous 
with the whole evolutionary scheme than that of 
Mr. Sinnett, and therefore in itself it recom- 
mends itself more to my judgment.’ 


Colonel Olcott follows the publication of Mr. Sinnett’s 
article with a comment signed with his initials. His own 
leanings are indicated by the following quotation: 


‘Three months later Mrs. Besant receded and took an equivocal position 
(Lucifer, November, 1893); two years later she reversed herself com- 
pletely and sided emphatically with Mr. Sinnett’s contentions (Lucifer, 
December, 1895). All this was a sequence to her falling into the same 
methods of ‘‘communication’’ as Mr. Sinnett. But see succeeding chapters. 


CONTROVERSY OVER HL.P.B. ACT 


The inestimable services which Mr. Sinnett 
has rendered our movement in the past, and his 
unfaltering loyalty to the Masters and to H.P.B. 
personally ... would entitle him to occupy 
the free platform of The Theosophist,... 
Like every other contributor to our pages, he is 
responsible for his facts and opinions, and 
neither I nor the T.S. is to be held accountable 
for the same. His assertion that he is, and for 
many years has been, in frequent epistolary in- 
tercourse with Mahatma K. H. is most important 
and interesting, since, if valid, it goes to prove 
what has always been affirmed, that the Adepts 
are the friends and benefactors of the race, not 
the appanage of single individuals or groups of 
persons. ... If Mr. Sinnett’s remarks with re- 
gard to the human fallibility of H.P.B. should 
give offense to any, these should still bear in 
mind that the writer was her devoted friend 
when friends were few, and learnt from her 
Teachers direct that loyalty to an idea did not 
imply wilful blindness as to the merits or de- 
ficiencies of its exponents. 


If now the student will turn to Chapter IX herein, he 
will have no difficulty in relating the controversy just 
described to the discussion arising out of Subba Row’s 
discourses on the ‘‘Bhagavad-Gita,’’ delivered before 
the Indian Convention in December, 1886. H.P.B. knew 
then what was to come; otherwise how account for the 
exact disclaimers and specific warnings contained in 
her articles in The Theosophist for April and August, 
1887, and in her correspondence with Col. Olcott on Mr. 
Cooper-Oakley’s fatuousness in admitting the Subba Row 
eriticisms—disclaimers and warnings that neither Olcott 
nor any other save W. Q. Judge saw rhyme or reason 
in at the time? Two additional quotations from H.P.B.’s 
articles at that time are germane here, besides those 
given in Chapter LX, though the whole series in The 
Theosoplust should be carefully studied. She said, in 


402 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 
April, 1887 (The Theosophist, Volume 8, p. 448) : 


In a most admirable lecture by Mr. T. Subba 
Row ... the lecturer deals, incidentally as I 
believe, with the question of septenary ‘‘prin- 
ciples’? in the Kosmos and Man. The division 
is rather criticized. ... 

This criticism has already given rise to some 
misunderstanding, and it is argued by some that 
a slur is thrown on the original teachings. This 
apparent disagreement ... is certainly a dan- 
gerous handle to give to opponents who are 
ever on the alert to detect and blazon forth con- 
tradictions and inconsistencies in our philosophy. 
.. . Therefore, now, when he calls the division 
‘‘nnscientific and misleading,’’... 

A few words of explanation ... will not be 
out of place. ... That it is ‘‘misleading’’ is 
... perfectly true; for the great feature of the 
day—materialism—has led the minds of our 
Western Theosophists into the prevalent habit 
of viewing the seven principles as distinct and 
self-existing entities, instead of what they are 
—namely, upadhis and correlating states—three 
upadhis, basic groups, and four principles... . 

We have unfortunately—for it was prema- 
ture—opened a chink in the Chinese wall of 
esotericism, and we cannot now close it again, 
even if we would. I for one had to pay a heavy 
price for the indiscretion but I will not shrink 
from the results. ... 


Subba Row replied with further strictures and per- 
sonal allegations directed at H.P.B. as the author of 
the ‘‘sevenfold’’ classification of ‘‘Esoteric Buddhism.’’ 
In the August, 1887, Theosophist, H.P.B., forced to 
definitive and direct reply to Subba Row’s charges that 
she was the ‘‘original expounder’’ of the statements in 
‘‘Hsoteric Buddhism,’’ and ‘‘Man; Fragments of For- 
gotten History,’’ said: 


CONTROVERSY OVER H.P.B. 403 


This is hardly fair. Esoteric Buddhism was 
written absolutely without my knowledge, and 
as the author understood those teachings from 
letters he had received, what have J to do 
with them. « . . Finally ‘‘Man’’ was entirely re- 
written by one of the two ‘‘chelas’’ and from the 
same materials as those used by Mr. Sinnett for 
Esoteric Buddlism; the two having understood 
the teachings, each in his own way. What had 
I to do with the ‘‘states of consciousness’’ of 
the three authors, two of whom wrote in Eng- 
land while I was in India... . 

This will do, I believe. The Secret Doctrine 
will contain, no doubt, still more heterodox 
statements from the Brahminical view. No 
one is forced to accept my opinions or teaching 
in the Theosophical Society, one of the rules of 
which enforces only mutual tolerance for re- 
ligious views. 

Most of us have been playing truants to this 
golden rule as to all others; more’s the pity. 


Finally, as we noted in Chapter IX, Mr. Judge con- 
tributed to the discussion in the August, 1887, The- 
osophist, from which we quote: 


The greatest schisms often come about through 
the supporters of one cause disputing over mere 
terminology. Mr. Subba Row . . . condemned 
the ‘‘sevenfold classification’’ which has come to 
be very largely accepted among Theosophists 
... This brought out a reply which was pub- 
lished in The Path, and one which H. P. 
Blavatsky wrote for The Theosophist. . . . 

As his [Subba Row’s] articles appeal to my 
eyes and mind, the real difficulty seems to be, not 
with any and all sevenfold classifications, but 
with the particular sevenfold classification found 
in Hsoteric Buddhism and other theosophical 
WOKS. 


404 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


... in Mr. Sinnett’s book some division had 
to be adopted that Western minds could grasp 
until they were able to go higher. But for my 
part I have never understood that his book was 
gospel truth. The great basis of our Society 
would be undermined by any such doctrine, just 
as much as his own progress would be retarded 
did he fancy that the views expressed by him 
were his own invention . . . many decades will 
pass away, and many false as well as ridiculous 
systems will arise, grow up and disappear, be- 
fore the whole truth will be known. ... 


Thus the matter stood in the fall of 1893: an open 
breach in the Society and among its leaders on the ques- 
tion of one of the most important Theosophical teachings 
as to Nature and Man; an equally sharp cleavage of 
opinion as to the status of H. P. Blavatsky in the Occult 
world. Was she a Teacher, the direct Agent of the Mas- 
ters of Wisdom, or was she a mere ‘‘medium’’ and ‘‘psy- 
chic’’ used as a tool by Them at times, and at other times, 
shorn of Their help and guidance, a mere inventor and 
deliverer of bogus ‘‘messages’’ in Their names? 


CHAPTER XXV 
ANNIE BESANT IN AMERICA, 1892-1893 


Ir will be recalled ! that an urgent invitation had been 
extended to Mrs. Besant to visit India in the fall of 1891, 
following the death of H.P.B. This visit was canceled, 
ostensibly because of the ill-health of Mrs. Besant due 
to prolonged strain and overwork; actually because of 
the charges made to her against the moral character of 
Col. Olcott, on account of which she came to the United 
States to place them before Mr. Judge. This was her 
second visit to America, her first having been in the 
spring preceding to attend the Convention of the Ameri- 
can Section as the bearer of H.P.B.’s last Message to 
the American Theosophists. 

In the early fall of 1892, the invitation to visit India 
was again extended to Mrs. Besant. Colonel Olcott, 
Bertram Keightley and others, Hindu as well as English 
officials and prominent members of the Indian Section, 
wrote her on the need for her presence there. The fund 
to pay her expenses, started in 1891, was largely in- 
creased by voluntary contributions. Mrs. Besant con- 
sulted Mr. Judge, who advised against her going and, 
instead, recommended that she visit the United States 
on a lecturing tour. Mrs. Besant accepted his advice 
and the Indian members were satisfied, for the time 
being, by arrangements made to send to Adyar two of 
the English workers connected with the ‘‘household’’ at 
Avenue Road. Messrs. Sidney V. Edge and Walter R. 
Old were accordingly ‘‘loaned’’ to the Indian headquar- 
ters where they went late in 1892, the one becoming as- 
sistant secretary there and the other taking the place of 
Mr. Bertram Keightley, who arranged to return to Eng- 

+See Chapter XXI. 

405 


406 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


land early in 1893. Both Mr. Edge and Mr. Old en- 
tered at once into the work of the Indian Section and the 
affairs at Headquarters, and were active contributors 
to the pages of The Theosophist; becoming, in short, 
diligent and satisfactory aides to Col. Olcott in his multi- 
farious duties and activities. Mr. Keightley assigned as 
his reason for returning to England the advanced age 
and precarious health of his mother, to whom he was 
much attached. This was true; but as in many similar 
cases the announced occasion was not the compelling 
reason—as we shall see. 

Mrs. Besant arrived in New York on November 30, 
1892. From then until her departure at the end of Feb- 
ruary, 1893, she was incessantly engaged in public lec- 
tures, in addresses public and private to the various 
American Branches and the Groups of the Esoteric Sec- 
tion, in receptions, conferences, interviews, and corre- 
spondence which brought her the acquaintance and esteem 
of practically every Theosophist in the United States. 
The general arrangements for her tour had been care- 
fully planned by Mr. Judge, but in every local centre 
the resident members looked after the details of her visit 
with such attention and assiduity that her mission be- 
fore the public was an overwhelming success, while 
amongst the Theosophists themselves, her progress was 
a continuous ovation. She visited, with the excep- 
tion of the South, every large centre in the United 
States, east and west. The largest halls and theatres 
were packed to capacity with attentive and respect- 
ful audiences. The press throughout the country was 
filled with interviews and articles descriptive of her re- 
markable history, her oratorical ability, her personal 
characteristics, her pre-eminence in the Theosophical 
world, her presumed Occult attainments and powers. 
A great outburst of curiosity and interest in her and 
her doctrines preceded and followed her wherever she 
went. 

On her return to England she published, under the title 
‘‘Speeding the Message,’’ an account in Lucifer for April 
of her American trip. In the editorial section—‘On 


ANNIE BESANT IN AMERICA 407 


the Watch-Tower’’—she commented on the lessons gained 
on her American trip in these words: 


Hlsewhere in these pages I have given a brief 
account of my American tour, but I want to 
place on record here my testimony to the splen- 
did work done in America by the Vice-President 
of our Society, the General Secretary of the 
Section, Witu1am Q. Jupcr. H.P.B. knew well 
what she was doing when she chose that strong 
quiet man to be her second self in America, to 
inspire all the workers there with the spirit of 
his intense devotion and unconquerable courage. 
In him is the rare conjunction of the business 
qualities of the skilful organizer, and the mys- 
tical insight of the Occultist—a combination, I 
often think, painful enough to its possessor with 
the shock of the two currents tossing the physi- 
eal life into turbulence, but priceless in its utility 
to the movement. For he guides it with the 
strong hand of the practical leader, thus gaining 
for it the respect of the outer world; while he is 
its life and heart in the region where lie hidden 
the real sources of its energy. For out of the 
inner belief of members of the T.S. in the re- 
ality of spiritual forces springs the activity seen 
by the outer world, and our Brother’s unshak- 
able faith in the Masrrrs and in Their care for 
the movement is a constant encouragement and 
inspiration to all who work with him. 


Immediately following Mrs. Besant’s tour the annual 
Convention of the American Section was held in New 
York at the end of April, 1893. Fifty-five Branches 
were represented by delegates or proxies and an un- 
usually large number of visiting members attended the 
sessions. Mr. Bertram Keightley attended the Conven- 
tion and read letters of greeting from the Indian and 
Huropean Sections. Numerous other messages were re- 
ceived from abroad, amongst them an official letter from 
the President-Founder. This letter is important as 


408 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


showing the position assumed by him and the means 
taken to express his personal views. We quote the letter 
in full: 
Tur THEOSOPHICAL SOCIETY 
PRESIDENT’S OFFICE 
Apyar, Mapras, 23 March, 1898. 
The Delegates of the American Section in Con- 
vention Assembled : 
Brethren: 

During the past year you have been giving 
abundant proofs of the tireless zeal with which 
you have pursued the work of our Society. The 
results prove the truth of the oft-repeated 
statement of our Masters that their help is al- 
ways given to the earnest and unselfish worker. 
We have but one danger to dread and guard 
against. This is the subordination of general 
principles to hero-worship, or admiration of per- 
sonalities. J shall not excuse myself for fre- 
quent recurrence to this theme, for I am con- 
vinced that, if the Society should ever disin- 
tegrate, this will be the cause. The Masters 
wrote in Jsis that ‘‘men and parties, sects 
and schools are but the mere ephemera of the 
World’s day’’; and, following the precedent of 
their great recognized exemplar, Buddha Saky- 
amuni, they taught me to believe nothing upon 
authority, whether of a living or a dead person. 
I pray you to keep this ever in mind; and when I 
am dead and gone to recollect that the admission 
of the microbe of dogmatism into our Society 
wil be the beginning of its last and fatal 
sickness. 

Wishing you for the coming year a continu- 
ance of prosperity, and expressing a hope that 
I may sometime personally attend a Session of 
your Convention, I am fraternally and affec- 
tionately yours, 

H. 8. Otcort, 
President Theosophical Society. 


ANNIE BESANT IN AMERICA 409 


This was the second formal pronouncement by the 
President-Founder with all the authority of his official 
sanction, ostensibly to warn the members of the So- 
ciety against dogmatism, authority, and hero-worship; 
actually, to reduce H.P.B. to the level of a dead person in 
place of a still potent and vital factor as the Teacher of 
Theosophy. His first attempt in this direction was the 
Adyar Presidential Address at the close of 1891, from 
which we have quoted.? This had been followed by his 
‘‘Old Diary Leaves,’’ and a continuous active propa- 
ganda in his official as well as personal correspondence 
and speech. He had ignored the repeated articles of Mr. 
Judge and Mrs. Besant in The Path and Lucifer uphold- 
ing the entire neutrality of the Society on all matters 
of opinion, the perfect freedom everywhere accorded in 
America and Europe for the fullest expression of the 
most contradictory views. What he could not endure 
was that anyone should choose to regard H.P.B. as a 
Teacher par excellence, should dare publicly to express 
such an opinion, should act upon it. His voice was never 
at any time raised against those who belittled her; he 
never called attention to the fact that it was H.P.B. 
herself who had warned first, foremost, and insistently 
against ‘‘popery’’ in any guise, and herself set the con- 
stant example of rejecting homage of any kind. Nor 
did he ever inform the members that no one was for an 
instant tolerated at Adyar or in India who did not im- 
plicitly obey himself in all things, while both England 
and America were notable throughout for constant con- 
flicts of opinion amongst workers. It seems never to 
have occurred to him that he had himself from the very 
beginning been the very one, and the only one of promi- 
nence, who had claimed and exercised arbitrary author- 
ity, who had fought consistently against any semblance 
of genuine democracy in the government of the Society. 
‘*Councils’’ appointed by himself and changeable at his 
will, ‘‘constitutions,’’ ‘‘by-laws,’’ ‘‘Hxecutive Orders,’’ 
and so on, all emanating from himself, all expressive of 
his own ideas and importance, were the continuous and 

*See Chapter XX. 


410 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


glaring signs of his own violation of the spirit of the 
Movement and the Society. Over and over his official ut- 
terances no less than his actual practices proclaimed his 
firm conviction that the Society needed a ‘‘ruler,’’ and 
himself that ruler ‘‘chosen’’ to rule by the Masters. 
Though he denied the validity of H.P.B.’s writings and 
rejected their authenticity when they or she came in con- 
flict with his own ideas and desires, he did not hesitate 
to quote them as Masters’ words when they could be bent 
to his own ends. Thus, in the letter just quoted, he 
says: ‘‘The Masters wrote in ‘Isis.’’’ So far as he and 
the members were concerned, it was H.P.B. who wrote 
in ‘‘Isis.’? Quite true he had H.P.B.’s word (as a mat- 
ter of fact and not of ‘‘authority’’) that all she wrote 
was Masters’ teaching, all she did was Masters’ will, 
and equally true that her statements were confirmed to 
him and to others by direct Messages to them from those 
very Masters Themselves. But all this was mere testi- 
mony; testimony which he was quite as ready to reject 
when it suited him, as to quote when he could make use 
of it. But when Judge or any other, convinced that H. 
P.B. was Masters’ ‘‘direct Agent’’ and her writings 
Their Teachings and Instructions, followed her teaching 
and example, even against the ‘‘executive notices’’ of the 
President-Founder and his proclaimed opinions, they 
were of necessity guilty of the ‘‘unpardonable sin’’ and 
were injecting dogmatism and hero-worship into the So- 
ciety. When they declared as their view that the Society 
existed for the sake of Theosophy and that the Teacher 
was more important than the ‘‘ruler,’’ then, equally of 
necessity, it could appear to Col. Olcott only as treason 
against the Society and a violation of its neutrality. 
The Report of the American Section’s Convention con- 
tained Col. Oleott’s letter as also the letter of the Indian 
Section read by Mr. Bertram Keightley and signed by 
him as General Secretary of the Indian Section. It con- 
tains a sentence which the reader should compare with 
quotations from Mr. R. Harte’s earlier articles* in The 
Theosophist, written prior to the formation of the 
*See Chapter XVI. 


ANNIE BESANT IN AMERICA 411 


Ksoteric Section in 1888, when Col. Olcott was in the 
throes of his battle with H.P.B. Mr. Keightley says: 


We look hopefully forward to a time when the 
headquarters of the whole Society will in re- 
ality be its living heart and centre, sending out 
vitalizing spiritual influences, knowledge, and 
guidance to all its parts, as was the case when 
our revered teacher, H.P.B., resided there. 


The same Report contains also some remarks of Mr. 
Judge as General Secretary of the American Section, 
which it cannot be doubted were written in view of the 
letter of Col. Olcott as President and of Mr. Keightley 
as General Secretary of the Indian Section. They were 
intended to make clear the perfect freedom and right 
of individual expression of opinion, no matter what or 
by whom, in distinction from official declarations vest- 
ing with the sanction of office and authority any per- 
sonal views of any kind. He says: 


I hold that no officer or committee of the T.S. 
should appear in print as publisher or approver 
of any general treatises, doctrinal expositions, 
or other controversial matter, and that they 
should confine their official names to diplomas, 
charters, blanks, general information about T. 
S., and the like. Following this policy I have 
never placed on my private publications my of- 
ficial title nor the office title, as I insist that wf 
we follow any other policy we cannot keep the 
Society out of dogmatism or out of a reputa- 
tation for dogmatizmg. Every member has per- 
fect freedom to rssue over his wndividual name 
what books or publications he deems proper, and 
that I have long exercised, but I have no right 
im any way, however slight, to attach the T.S. 
to any publication which gives private views on 
Theosophy. 


The American Convention was followed by the Con- 
vention of the British and European Section in July, 


412 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


1893. Mr. Judge attended as delegate from the Ameri- 
can Section and was chosen as Chairman of the Con- 
vention. In his closing address to the assembled 
delegates and visitors he recurred to the subjects of 
government and dogmatism. We quote here some of his 
salient sentences: 


... The Society grew, members increased, 
work spread, the organization embraced the 
earth. Now was this growth due to a constitu- 
tion and red tape? No; it was all because of 
the work of earnest men and women who worked 
for an ideal. Red tape, and votes, and laws 
to preserve votes, or to apportion them, are use- 
less for any purpose if they are such as to 
hamper effort. Bind your soul about with red 
tape, and like the enwrapped mummy it will be 
incapable of movement. 

If you will regard its history in Europe, you 
will see that it came to its high point of energy 
without votes, without rules, supported and sus- 
tained by unselfish effort. Was it H.P.B. 
alone who made it grow here? No, for she alone 
could do nothing. She had to have around her 
those who would work unselfishly. ... 

The next point I would like you to consider is 
that of dogmatism. A great deal has been said 
about the fear of a dogmatic tendency and of the 
actual existence among us of dogmatism. This 
I consider to be all wrong and not sustainable 
by facts. The best way for you to produce dog- 
matism is by continually fearing and talking 
about it, by waving about the charge of dog- 
matism on every occasion. In that way you will 
soon create it out of almost nothing. 

What is dogmatism? To my mind, it is the 
assertion of a tenet that others must accept. Is 
that what we do as a body? I think not. Cer- 
tainly I do not do it. In my opinion, oft 
declared, anyone who asserts in our Society that 


ANNIE BESANT IN AMERICA 


one must believe this or that theory or phi- 
losophy is no Theosophist, but an intolerant 
bigot. 

But those who have spoken of dogmatism 
have mistaken energy, force, personal convic- 
tion and loyalty to personal teachers and ideals 
for dogmatism. Such are not dogmatism. One 
has a perfect right to have a settled convic- 
tion, to present it forcibly, to sustain it with 
every argument, without being any the less a 
good member of the Society. Are we to be flabby 
because we are members of an unsectarian body, 
and are we to refuse to have convictions merely 
because no one in the Society may compel an- 
other to agree with him? Surely not. My 
friends, instead of being afraid of a future dog- 
matism of which there is no real sign now, we 
should fear that it may be produced by an un- 
reasonable idea that the assertions of your own 
convictions may bring it about. I feel quite sure 
that those who accuse us of dogmatism have no 
fixed ideal of their own... . 

Too many have failed to make brotherhood 
a real thing in their life, leaving it merely as a 
motto on their shield. Our brotherhood must 
naturally include men and women of very various 
characters, each with different views of nature, 
having personal characteristics which may or 
may not grate on others, as the case my be. 
The first step, then, to take is to accept and 
tolerate personally all your fellows. In no other 
way can we begin to approach the realization of 
the great ideal. The absence of this accepta- 
tion of others is a moral defect. It leads to 
suspicion, and suspicion ruptures our union. In 
our assembly where harmony is absent, and 
brotherhood is not, the labors of those assembled 
are made almost nil, for an almost impenetrable 
cloud rolls out and covers the mental plane of 
all present. But let harmony return, and then 


413 


414 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


the collective mind of all becomes the property 
of each, sending down into the mind of everyone 
a benediction which is full of knowledge. 


Nor was Mrs. Besant in any way behind in affirming 
the full freedom of expression in the Society, or the 
declaration of her own convictions on questions of teach- 
ing and of policy. Thus in Lucifer for May, 1893, she 
published a paper by Mr. W. F. Kirby on ‘‘French 
Spiritism.’’ In his paper Mr. Kirby states: 


the doctrines of Reincarnation and Karma, 
though now justly regarded by all Theosophists 
as of paramount importance... were not 
openly propounded by the Society until the pub- 
lication of Mr. Sinnett’s Esoteric Buddhism in 
1883. 


To this statement Mrs. Besant appends an editorial note, 
reading as follows: 


Our friend, Mr. Kirby, has perhaps forgotten 
that the Theosophist was first published in 1879 
and Isis Unveiled in 1876 [this should be 
1877]. We should also remember that the doc- 
trines of Karma and Reincarnation are not pro- 
pounded by the Theosophical Society, but only 
by those of its members who believe in the 
Hisoteric Philosophy or some other system of 
Philosophy or Religion in which these doctrines 
are taught. The T.S. has three objects, but no 
doctrines. We may perhaps wisely add that the 
presentation of Theosophical teachings by any 
writer is not authoritative. We should certainly 
take objection to the statement as to Devachan 
in this article-—Eps. 


Again, in the same number, in reviewing Mr. W. 
Scott-Hlhott’s paper in the London Lodge Transaction 
to which we have referred,* on the ‘‘Evolution of Hu- 
manity,’’ Lucifer says: 

*See Chapter XXIV. 


ANNIE BESANT IN AMERICA 415 


We must take exception to the phrase in its 
second paragraph that it is to be ‘‘regarded as 
an authoritative statement.’’ Authoritative, it 
may be, to those who accept the authority on 
which it is based—what this is, is nowhere stated 
—but not authoritative so far as the T.S. is con- 
cerned. ... We notice that Mr. Scott-Ellott 
agrees with Mr. Sinnett ... Those who fol- 
low the teachings of the Secret Doctrine will, of 
course, dissent... 


In the ‘‘Watch-Tower’’ of the August, 1893, Lucifer 
Mrs. Besant editorially reiterates her own convictions 
as follows: 


The keynote of the work for each of us is that 
of devotion to the Masrmrs, as the great Serv- 
ants of Humanity. . . . Here again the influence 
of H.P.B. makes itself strongly felt; for she 
trained us to look on this work as theirs... 
And as, since she left us, the signs that some of 
us had learned to recognize as from Them con- 
tinued to occur, and we found the communica- 
tion was not broken, but remained open to us just 
to the extent that each was able to take advan- 
tage of it, our knowledge of Them has been a 
living and a growing knowledge. .. . 

Nor do I fear to thus frankly state the fact 
of my knowledge of the existence of Masrmrs. 
... From observations made in Hurope and 
America of the many societies I have visited, 
I am able to say that just in so far as the Mas- 
TERS are recognized as ‘‘Facts and Ideals’’ by 
the members, so far also are the societies pro- 
gressive and influential. While carefully guard- 
ing the Theosophical Society as a whole, and 
each of its branches, from erecting belief in the 
Masters into a dogma which members must tac- 
itly, if not openly, accept, every member who 
does believe in Them should be ready to say so 


416 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


if challenged, and should never shrink from 
saying that he carries on his work on lines that | 
he thinks They approve. 


Next, Mrs. Besant goes on to discuss the proper at- 
titude to hold when issues are raised, whether of teach- 
ing or policy, on which different or contradictory views 
are held. It is of such major importance as setting forth 
the practice and principles of H.P.B. and Mr. Judge 
—practice and principles with which Mrs. Besant was 
then in full sympathy—that we reproduce it in full: 


It may be as well to remind the readers of 
Lucirer that one of the lines laid down by H.P.B. 
for the conduct of this magazine—and she would 
not have adopted and carried on a policy in 
antagonism to the wish of her MasrrEr—was 
the admission to its pages of articles with which 
she totally or partially disagreed, where the ar- 
ticles raised questions bearing on Theosophical 
teachings or interests. Her statement is worth 
reproducing: 

‘‘H'ree discussion, temperate, candid, unde- 
filed by personalities and animosity, is, we 
think, the most efficacious means of getting 
rid of error and bringing out the underlying 
truth. . . . Keeping strictly in its editorials 
and in articles by its individual editors, to the 
spirit and teachings of pure Theosophy, it 
[Luctrer] nevertheless frequently gives room 
to articles and letters which diverge widely 
from the Esoteric teachings accepted by the 
editors, as also by the majority of Theoso- 
phists. Readers, therefore, who are accus- 
tomed to find in magazine and party publica- 

_ tions only such opinions and arguments as the 
editor believes to be unmistakably orthodox— 
from his peculiar standpoint—must not con- 
demn any article in Luctrer with which they 
are not entirely in accord, or in which expres- 


ANNIE BESANT IN AMERICA 417 


sions are used that may be offensive from a 
sectarian or a prudish point of view, on the 
ground that such are unfitted for a Theo- 
sophical magazine. They should remember 
that precisely because Lucirer is a Theo- 
sophical magazine, it opens its columns to 
writers whose views of life and things may 
not only slightly differ from its own, but even 
be diametrically opposed to the opinion of the 
editors.”’ 

This is the policy followed still by Luctrsr, 
and it should be understood that the publication 
of such articles, say, as those of Mr. Sinnett and 
of Mr. Sturdy in the present issue, by no means 
implies any agreement with the views put for- 
ward on the part of my colleague G. R. S. Mead 
or of myself. 


The reference to the articles by Mr. Sinnett and Mr. 
Sturdy were, in the one case, to Mr. Sinnett’s communi- 
eation on ‘‘ Esoteric Teaching’’ from which we have al- 
ready quoted.®> In the other case Mrs. Besant was re- 
ferring to an article on ‘‘Gurus and Chelas,’’ in which 
Mr. Sturdy expressed very emphatically his views on the 
subject. Mr. Sturdy’s article was manifestly inspired 
indirectly by the numerous claims and counter-claims of 
‘“chelaship’’ and ‘‘messages from the Masters’? made by 
or on behalf of various members. Directly, it was, we 
think, undoubtedly occasioned by a brief article with the 
same title, and bearing the signature, ‘‘A Hindu Chela,’’ 
published in Lucifer for May preceding. Whatever the 
source or origin of the article by the ‘‘Hindu Chela,’’ 
it is strictly true to the principles and conduct of the 
Second Section, so far as those have ever been disclosed. 
In publishing Mr. Sturdy’s article Mrs. Besant did not 
state that she had suppressed its three closing para- 
eraphs, in which Mr. Sturdy discloses his real animus 
in writing. Mr. Sturdy was a close follower of Col. 
Olcott and a great admirer of Mr. Sinnett and Mrs. 


®*See preceding chapter. 


418 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


Besant. It was well understood that his suppressed 
statements actually were aimed at Mr. Judge, and while 
Mrs. Besant had already begun to listen to hints and in- 
nuendoes against the good faith of Mr. Judge, she was 
still publicly supporting him and his policies as the poli- 
cies of H.P.B. The student will do well to read, re-read, 
and relate as closely as possible the stream of matter 
in the Theosophast, Lucifer, and The Path during the 
year 1893, if he is to discern the weaving of the meshes 
of the web of the fatal plot of 1894. We can but barely 
indicate some of the most significant of the knots that 
were being tied. First, then, let us turn to The The- 
osopmst for October, 1893, in which Mr. Sturdy’s article 
is reproduced in full, with an editorial note by Col. Ol- 
eott as editor of The Theosopst. Colonel Olcott’s note 
reads: 


The three paragraphs within brackets hav- 
ing been expurgated by the editors of Lucifer 
for reasons of their own, and Mr. Sturdy re- 
garding them as the pith of his argument, we 
print the whole article by his request and com- 
mend it to the attention of the reader.—Ep. 
Theos. 


Mr. Sturdy’s expurgated paragraphs read as follows: 


Of conerete things and persons we need con- 
crete proofs. Of concrete letters and messages 
from living men, we need concrete evidence; not 
metaphysical or mere argumentative proof. Yet 
you can never disprove these claims. If I choose 
to send a letter in green, blue, or red or any 
other coloured ink or pencil and tell you I re- 
ceived it from a Mahatma for you, or merely say 
nothing and enclose it in a letter to you, you 
may be very much astonished, but you can prove 
no he or forgery against me. If you are wise 
you will act as if you had never received it; 
unless indeed you make a mental note or two 
against me; one of folly for my having done 


ANNIE BESANT IN AMERICA 419 


such a thing and given no proofs, and another 
of watchfulness as to my character generally. 

Nor does it seem probable that the Mahatmas, 
who, as we know, teach no dogmas, but always 
act by the amount of understanding an indi- 
vidual has, would encourage a system of mere 
statement and claim without accompanying 
proof ; for this would be to lay the seeds in men’s 
hearts of a faith in the statements of other 
men quite outside their experience and quite un- 
supported, men whose hearts they had not 
fathomed. This would lead back to all the evils 
of the past, not forward into light and knowl- 
edge. 

All such is glamour: there is no false mystery 
in chelaship; all nonsense about ‘‘developing in- 
tuition’’ is merely making excuses for what 
cannot be proven and is about the same in the 
end as the Christian ‘‘faith.’’ Let a man go on 
his path acting sternly by what he knows, not 
by what he is asked or persuaded to believe. Let 
him act by no directions which may be merely 
the thoughts of others no wiser than himself. 
How does he know? He does not know. Then 
let him be quite clear and straightforward in 
this, that he does not know. 


In Lucifer for October, 1893, Mrs. Besant wrote over 
her signature an article in reference to ‘‘Gurus and 
Chelas’’ and took a strong stand against the spirit and 
logic of Mr. Sturdy’s article. A brief quotation will dis- 
close her position on what she calls the ‘‘fundamental 
difference’’ between Mr. Sturdy’s views and her own: 


Is the most sacred and sublime of all human 
relationships nothing more than an intellectual 
bond, entered into with questions that appear to 
make the initial stage one of mutual suspicion, 
to be slowly removed by prolonged knowledge of 
each other in physical life? Not so have I been 


420 THE THEROSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


taught, little as I know of these high matters, 
and the process described by Bro. Sturdy is the 
complete reversal of all that I have heard as to 
the methods of the school to which I was intro- 
duced by H.P.B. 


Mr. Sturdy, it will be remembered, was himself not 
only a member of the Esoteric School but also had been 
one of the ‘‘H.8.T. Council’’ appointed by H.P.B., and 
had been present at the meeting at 19 Avenue Road 
on May 27, 1891, when the E.S. was reorganized im- 
mediately after the death of H.P.B.6 To understand 
the breach indicated by the ‘‘Gurus and Chelas’’ ar- 
ticles, these must be related not only to the matters we 
have been discussing, but in particular to an existing 
situation and a series of events which were due to it, 
which we have so far but barely hinted at, so that stu- 
dents might more readily grasp the connection when it 
required consideration. Let us first treat of the events 
themselves, and then go into the situation which gave 
rise to them. 

We have earlier mentioned that at the meeting of the 
K..S. Council on May 27, 1891, all that transpired, with 
one exception,’ was covered in the circular of the same 
date sent to all members of the Esoteric School. That 
omitted matter was a message from one of the Masters 
received during the deliberations, and by Mrs. Besant 
read to those present. We shall recur to this subject 
again, so that it is sufficient here to speak of the fact. 
This meeting was under the pledge of secrecy, as was 
the circular sent to the E.S. members. Immediately 
following this, and while Mr. Judge was still in England, 
following H.P.B.’s death, The Path for August, 1891, 
edited during Mr. Judge’s absence by ‘‘ Jasper Niemand’’ 
(Mrs. Archibald Keightley, or Julia Campbell-Ver 
Planck, as her name was then), began with a powerful 
article on ‘‘A Theosophical Education.’’ This article 
was headed with a message from one of the Masters, 


*See Chapter XIX. 
"See Chapter XIX. 


ANNIE BESANT IN AMERICA 421 


and was signed by Jasper Niemand. It should be re- 
membered that at that time no one knew who Jasper 
Niemand was except Mr. Judge and Mrs. Ver Planck her- 
self. The article went on to say that the ‘‘message’’ 
had been. received by a ‘‘student theosophist’’ since 
H.P.B.’s death, that the message was from H.P.B.’s 
Master and was ‘‘attested by His real signature and 
seal.’’ We have italicized the word ‘‘real’’ because we 
shall later have to return to the subject.® 

Following this, on August 30, 1891, Mrs. Besant, in 
St. James’ Hall, London, made a farewell address to the 
Secularists with whom she had worked for so many years 
prior to her becoming a Theosophist. The great hall 
was packed with her old co-workers. Her lengthy ad- 
dress was entitled ‘‘1875-1891: a Fragment of Auto- 
biography.’’ Near the close of this address she pledged 
her word, her senses, her sanity, and her honor that 
‘“since Madame Blavatsky left, I have had letters in the 
same writing and from the same person,’’ t.e., from the 
‘‘Mahatma’’ from whom the ‘‘messages’’ transmitted by 
H.P.B. during her lifetime had been believed by The- 
osophists to emanate. 

Naturally, these two public proclamations, the 
anonymous one in The Path, the other the solemn per- 
sonal affirmation of Mrs. Besant, both of them direct, 
sweeping, and unqualified, aroused a furore in the world 
and particularly amongst Theosophists. Because of Mrs. 
Besant’s statement it was inevitably inferred that she 
herself was in ‘‘communication with the Masters’’ and 
this inference was strengthened by her subsequent state- 
ments to various newspaper interviewers, and by other 
direct statements similar to the one in Lucifer for August, 
1893, from which we have quoted in the present chapter. 
No one, reading Mrs. Besant’s various statements dur- 
ing the three years following H.P.B.’s death, and grant- 
ing her sanity and honesty, could do other than infer 
that she spoke from direct, immediate personal knowl- 
edge and experience of her own, and not from hearsay, 
inference, or dependence on any one else’s assumed pow- 

*See Chapter XXXIV. 


422 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


ers and knowledge. These affirmations, coupled with her 
great reputation and towering place in the Theosophical 
world, caused numbers of Theosophists throughout the 
world to look to her, her writings, and her example, as the 
sure guide to follow. In the Esoteric School the mem- 
bers considered her as little, if any, short of H.P.B.’s 
stature in the Occult world, and this was particularly 
the case in England, Europe, and Asia. Her influence, 
therefore, with the membership both of the Society at 
large and of the Esoteric School grew to be tremendous 
and surpassed that of any other living person, while in 
the world she was the propagandist who could command 
the most attention, the largest audiences, the greatest 
publicity in the press. Judge, declining the Presidency 
by securing the revocation of Olcott’s resignation, writ- 
ing in his magazine largely under pseudonyms, confin- 
ing his official activities to the routine of a ‘‘General 
Secretary’’ of a Section, at all times avoided publicity to 
the utmost possible extent. He was unceasing in his de- 
votion to the work of the School, to the promotion of the 
First Object, and to the dissemination of Theosophy. 
Such publicity as befell him was due rather to the out- 
spoken praise of Mrs. Besant and others, and to the at- 
tacks upon him, direct and indirect, for his vigilant ef- 
forts to keep the name, the fame, and the writings of 
H.P.B. alive before the membership as their example 
and their guide, than to any necessity of his work or of- 
ficial position, which was at all times purely nominal, 
as had been the case with H.P.B. herself. And the 
student may be interested to know that from the year 
following the death of H.P.B. till his own passing in 
1896, his was a sick and over-burdened body, as was 
H.P.B.’s after the fiery furnace of 1884-5. In fact, during 
the years 1893-5, Mr. Judge was in such condition that he 
was for the most of the time able to speak but in whis- 
pers, and much of his work was done either in bed, or 
while traveling in search of physical relief. 

Mrs. Besant’s fame and reputation for ‘‘Occultism,”’ 
her continuous lectures, her vast and unceasing emission 
of writings, her capacity for continuous work under un- 


ANNIE BESANT IN AMERICA 423 


ending pressures, her confident surety of opinion and 
conviction in all things, made her every day more and 
more the ‘‘leader’’ of the Society. She overshadowed 
Col. Oleott and Mr. Sinnett as she overshadowed Mr. 
Judge—with this difference: she was convinced that Mr. 
Judge had been the real colleague of H.P.B., and that 
the others were not only ‘‘lesser lights’? in an Occult 
sense than Mr. Judge, but that they had not been, and 
were not, true to Masters and H.P.B. as Mr. Judge was. 
Her support it was, chiefly, her looking to Judge for 
counsel and advice, that gave him standing with the gen- 
eral membership outside America. 

Colonel Olcott and Mr. Sinnett, both exceedingly 
tenacious of whatever opinions they held, both greatly 
enjoying the prestige which they had acquired, the one 
as President-Founder, and the other as the President of 
the London Lodge and writer of the most popular trea- 
tises on Theosophy, could but be affected by the rise 
of Mrs. Besant into the luminous zone of the Theosophi- 
cal firmament. Neither of them had been pleased, either 
with H.P.B. and her ‘‘interferences,’’ or with her par- 
tiality—as it must have seemed to them—toward the 
obscure and unpretentious young man upon whom The- 
osophy and the Society perforce had to depend in Amer- 
ica. With the passing of H.P.B. it could but have 
seemed the natural and the appropriate thing for them 
to step, with proper expressions of regret and apprecia- 
tion, into the place made vacant by the death of ‘‘the 
old lion of the Punjab.’’ But when Mr. Judge kept on 
speaking and writing of H.P.B. as though she were still 
living and still the surpassing factor of the Movement, 
her writings the criterion by which to weigh and act, it 
was too much! Were they never to receive that recog- 
nition which was rightly theirs? With Mr. Judge out of 
the way H.P.B. had been easier to deal with while she 
was alive; with Judge out of the way, it would be easy 
to deal with H.P.B. dead. But when Mr. Judge found in 
Mrs. Besant a supporter and defender, both of H.P.B. 
and himself, and their brief triumph seemed threat- 
ened, without a chance of viability, it was much too much! 


424 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


Hence the issues of ‘‘hero worship,’’ of ‘‘dogmatism,’’ 
of the ‘‘neutrality of the T.S.’’; hence ‘‘Old Diary 
Leaves’’; hence the revived activities of the London 
Lodge with its ‘‘Transactions’’; hence the swift coming 
to the surface of disharmony, disunion, charges and 
counter-charges, claims and counter-claims. 


CHAPTER XXVI 
BEGINNINGS OF THE ‘‘JUDGE CASE’’ 


WHEN the ‘‘ Message’”’ in the August, 1891, Path came 
to Col. Olcott’s attention he wrote Mr. Judge. Then 
ensued a long private correspondence between the two, 
Judge doing his best to mollify the President-Founder 
while yet holding the position of uncompromising loy- 
alty to H.P.B. and her Mission, and to the policies 
he was pursuing; Col. Olcott, determined to bring mat- 
ters to an issue once and for all and enforce his own 
authority and standing as the ‘‘Official Head’’ of the 
Society. Colonel Olcott’s strategy and tactics were griev- 
ously interfered with and upset for the time being by 
Mrs. Besant’s charges against his moral character which 
caused him to ‘‘flee from the field of battle’’ by resign- 
ing under fire. When Mr. Judge came to his support 
and rescue, the better nature of Col. Olcott was once 
more in the saddle, and his public and official, as well 
as his private and personal, acts and statements became 
once more for a brief period those of the earlier years 
of his probation. But when it was whispered in his ear 
that it was Mr. Judge himself who had concocted the 
charges against him, with the purpose to unseat him in 
the love and veneration of the membership, and that Mr. 
Judge had come to his aid only through fear of being 
unmasked, Col. Olcott, old, sick, and disheartened, threw 
off his faint-heartedness, once more girded on his armor 
and weapons and re-entered the lists for a combat a 
l’outrance—‘‘for the sake of the Masters and the So- 
ciety,’’ as he verily believed. It seems never to have 
occurred to him to write Mr. Judge his fears and sus- 
picions direct and ask the facts; it seems never to have 
occurred to him to investigate or verify in any way the 
suspicions breathed to him. His vanity pricked, his 

425 


426 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


jealousies aroused, his own sincerity and devotion 
mocked, as it must have seemed to him, he took his fears 
for facts, his suspicions for certainties, and was thence- 
forth as sure of the ‘‘ingratitude”’ and the ‘‘disloyalty’’ 
of Mr. Judge as before he had been of H.P.B.’s. His 
fiery courage, his impetuous nature, all his noble and 
strong qualities were thenceforth blindly at the service 
of the masked and hidden enemies of the Theosophical 
Movement. 

While Mrs. Besant was on her third visit to America 
in the winter of 1892-3, Mr. Judge showed her the cor- 
respondence with Col. Olcott. One of the letters of Mr. 
Judge was on questions raised by Col. Olcott on the 
‘message’? in The Path of August, 1891.1. Mrs. Besant 
asked and obtained from Mr. Judge consent to the publi- 
cation of this letter in her magazine Lucifer, where it 
appeared in April, 1893, immediately after her return 
from the United States. This letter was, according to 
the restriction imposed by Mr. Judge, not published as 
to Col. Olcott, but as to ‘‘An Indian Brother,’’ and was 
given by Mrs. Besant the caption, ‘‘An Interesting 
Letter.’’ 

So soon as Lucifer with the ‘‘interesting letter’’ 
reached India, Col. Olcott took action. In The The- 
osophist for July, 1893, appear two articles in criticism 
of the views expressed by Mr. Judge in the ‘‘interesting 
letter.’? The second of these, signed ‘‘N. D. K.’’ (the 
initials of N. D. Khandalavala, a prominent Indian mem: 
ber), is an argument, from a similar point of view to 
that of Mr. Sturdy in ‘‘Gurus and Chelas,’’ against the 
danger of mere substitution by the unwise of ‘‘ Masters’’ 
for a personal ‘‘Savior.’’ ‘‘Reliance on Masters as 


ideals and as facts’? seems to N. D. K. mere folly. 
N. D. K. says: 


Does not the Christian missionary come cant- 
ing after us with exactly the same words? Sub- 
stitute the words ‘‘Jesus and Saviour’’ for 
‘‘Masters’’ in the sentences of Mr. Judge, and 

*See Chapter XX. 


BEGINNINGS OF THE “JUDGE CASE” 427 


they will read like a propaganda of the Kvan- 
gelist preachers. 


N. D. K. objects very strongly to Mr. Judge’s saying 
that he ‘‘knows out of his own experience’’ of the ex- 
istence of Masters and suggests that Mr. Judge ‘‘sys- 
tematically and exhaustively bring forward his experi- 
ences for the benefit of us all. ... There is no virtue 
whatsoever in boldly making an assertion, and withhold- 
ing the evidence upon which the assertion has been 
based.’’? Most objectionable of all to N. D. K. is Mr. 
Judge’s statement that his means of identifying a ‘‘mes- 
sage’’ is ‘within himself,’’ and not by means of external 
evidences such as signatures, seal, etc. This, N. D. K. 
thinks, is very bad indeed. He quotes from H.P.B. on 
the great need for ‘‘unbiassed and clear judgment’’ in all 
matters, but apparently has never read H.P.B.’s article 
in Lucifer for September, 1888, on ‘‘ Lodges of Magic’? in 
which she discusses this very question of the evidences of 
messages from the same standpoint as Mr. Judge’s state- 
ments, in reply to those who were whispering about that 
some of her Messages were fraudulent, others genuine, 
etc. N. D. K.’s implications would all apply equally to 
H.P.B. as to Mr. Judge, and, as the student may dis- 
cern for himself by comparison of statements, all that 
Mr. Judge wrote in his ‘‘interesting letter’’ had before 
him been said by H.P.B., to the same annoyance of the 
‘doubting Thomases’’ who, themselves unable to ‘‘com- 
municate,’’ nevertheless wanted ‘‘proofs’’ satisfactory to 
themselves. N. D. K.’s article has for title and subtitle, 
‘‘THEOSOPHY IN THE West. T'HE TenpENcY ‘Towarps 
DogMatTIsM.”’ 

The other article in The Theosophist had for title, 
‘‘Theosophic Freethought’’ and is signed by Messrs. 
Walter R. Old and Sidney V. Edge, Col. Oleott’s two 
chief lieutenants at the time. Mr. Old, like Mr. Sturdy, 
had been a member of the ‘‘H.8.T. Council’? during 
H.P.B.’s lifetime and had been present at the Avenue 
Road meeting of May 27, 1891. ‘‘Theosophic Free- 
thought’’ must have been written and published with the 


428 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


full endorsement of Col. Olcott. The writers profess to 
regard Mr. Judge’s statements as ‘‘virtually ...a 
dogma’’ and the publication of his letter as in itself a 
‘leading to dogmatism.’’ They go on to say: 


Hence we cannot conclude otherwise than that 
a personal declaration of belief coming from 
Mr. Judge and unsupported by any evidence 
showing how, in the face of general experience, 
he has attained that belief, is extremely inimical 
to the spirit of our Society. ... 

Another dangerous dogma advanced by Mr. 
Judge is the statement that ‘‘a very truism, 
when uttered by a Mahatma, has a deeper mean- 
ing for which the student must seek, but which he 
will lose if he stops to criticize and weigh the 
words in mere ordinary scales.’’ . . . if we push 
it to its ultimate issue, as Mr. Judge seems 
anxious to do, its thoroughly noxious and un- 
wholesome nature becomes simply overpow- 
Cringe yw. 

Of the same nature as the above, and of 
equally dangerous tendency, is the statement in 
regard to messages received from a Master that 
‘<The signature is not important. The means of 
identification are not located in signatures at 
all. If you have not the means yourself for 
proving and identifying such a message, then 
signature, seal, papers, water-mark, what-not, 
are all useless. As to ‘Master’s Seal,’ about 
which you put me the question, I do not know. 
Whether he has a seal or uses one is something 
on which I am ignorant.’’... 

To sum up: it appears from Mr. Judge’s 
letter: 

1. A Theosophist of high standing and au- 
thority in the Society has a right to widely af- 
firm the existence of Masters as a matter of per- 
sonal experience, without adducing proofs of his 
experience. 


BEGINNINGS OF THE “JUDGE CASE” 4.29 


2. That others may, unchallenged, assert the 
same with equal force, upon the authority of his 
unproved personal statement. 

3. That so long as he is prepared to take the 
Karma of such assertions, it is not a matter of 
concern to any other member of the same body. 

4. That the progress of the T.S. les in 
fidelity to the ‘‘assertions’’ of a few of its 
members. 

o. That a truism when uttered by a Mahatma 
becomes something more than a truism. 

6. That letters received from a Mahatma will 
not permit of the usual tests of identification. 

7. That the only test is one’s own intuition. 


The reader, with the collateral circumstances in mind 
and the text of Mr. Judge’s ‘‘interesting letter’’ before 
him, can take these criticisms by Messrs. Old and Edge 
one by one and compare them in spirit and fairness, as 
well as in logic, with the manner and matter of Mr. 
Judge’s statements. The irony of the situation is en- 
hanced by the simple fact that none of the ‘‘messages’’ 
which formed the basis of the shafts leveled at Mr. Judge 
had been received by him, or had been made public by 
him, and that he had scrupulously avoided any state- 
ments direct or indirect that might direct or attract at- 
tention to himself as Master’s agent. On the other hand 
the statements made by Mrs. Besant and Mr. Sinnett 
were in such form and made in such circumstances as 
directly to challenge acceptance or rejection on their 
mere ipse diait. And the same was exactly true of Col. 
Olcott. No ‘‘evidence’’ was ever offered by either of 
these three, no arguments, no citations of teachings, to 
support their claims. Hach repeatedly claimed ‘‘com- 
munications from the Masters of H.P.B.,’’? with him- 
self as the sole ‘‘authority’’ for the claims; each, at one 
time and another, rejected the ‘‘authenticity’’ of mes- 
sages coming through H.P.B., the ‘‘rejected’’ messages 
of H.P.B. always those which, if genuine, upset their 
own teachings and their own claims. In contrast with 


430 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


this, the student can easily ascertain for himself by ex- 
amination that the ‘‘fraudulent’’ messages attributed 
to both H.P.B. and Mr. Judge were in every case in 
strict accord with the whole philosophy of Occultism as 
recorded by them during twenty years, and with all the 
‘Caccepted Messages’’ from the Masters. 

Setting aside the possibility that there may be modes 
of communication and means of verification of Occult 
communications which are absolute to Masters and ‘‘ac- 
cepted Chelas,’’ and wholly unknown and unsuspected 
by any others—setting all this aside, what possible 
‘‘nroofs’’ are there of the genuineness of an alleged 
communication from ‘‘other planes of being’’? 

The records of all religions are full of communica- 
tions from God, demons, angels, discarnate ‘‘spirits,’’ 
what-not. Modern Spiritualism and psychical research 
swarm with the statements of such communications. The 
proofs, when investigated, always come down to two 
things: (1) the affirmation of the recipient that he has 
received the communication and that he knows the source 
of the message; (2) the phenomenal accompaniments— 
light, a voice, a vision, objects moved without physical 
contact, words and letters ‘‘precipitated,’’ facts related 
and events described unknown to the recipient, or sup- 
posedly known to him alone, prophecies, and so on. These 
proofs have in all ages been sufficient to satisfy multi- 
tudes of recipients and masses of believers, and to ex- 
cite to fury the incredulity of others. But when the 
thoughtful man compares the respective ‘‘revelations’’ 
he always finds them in gross contradiction, one with 
another; more, he finds the accepted explanation of the 
recipients and their followers inconsistent within itself, 
and impossible of reconciliation with the everyday dem- 
onstrated facts of life, and their accepted explanation. 
One would think, to listen to any of the votaries of these 
communications, that there remain no mysteries in life 
to explain, whereas, any reflective mind must admit that 
life holds little else than mysteries, and that the true 
explanation and understanding of God and Nature and 


BEGINNINGS OF THE “JUDGE CASE” 431 


Man are as far from human solution as ever. The most 
that can be truly said by the layman is that all these 
proofs demonstrate is that ‘‘there are more things in 
heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your 
philosophy.’’ 

It remains true, as H.P.B. wrote at the time of the 
New York Sun libel, that ‘‘Occult phenomena can never 
be proved in a Court of Law during this century.’’ 
‘“Messages,’’ whether from Masters or from other 
sources, must continue to be for the ‘‘uninitiated’’ a 
matter of intelligent or unintelligent, of consistent or 
inconsistent, belief or disbelief. Phenomena at best are 
but accompaniments, not certificates, and if the Source 
of any message is metaphysical and transcendental, its 
verification must be looked for on the plane of its origin, 
not that of its receipt. Hence the repeated statements 
of H.P.B. and Mr. Judge, as well as those of the Mas- 
ters in the generally accepted communications from 
Them, that ‘‘messages’’ as well as Messengers must be 
judged on their philosophical and moral worth, not on 
the basis of ‘‘authority’’ or phenomenal accompaniments. 
But to return to ‘‘Theosophic Freethought.’’ 

A footnote to the article by Messrs. Old and Edge 
says, In connection with Mr. Judge’s remarks on ‘‘ Mas- 
ter’s Seal’’: 


In regard to this statement we can only re- 
mark that Mr. Judge’s memory must be seri- 
ously defective. We must therefore remind him 
that a very important step in connection with 
the re-organization of the Esoteric Section of 
the T.S. was taken, after the death of H.P.B., 
on the authority of a certain message, purport- 
ing to come from one of the Mahatmas, and 
which bore, as Mr. Judge will now remember, a 
seal-impression, said by him to be that of ‘‘the 
Master.’’ No doubt Mr. Judge will take the 
opportunity of either rectifying his statement 
or of showing how his acting upon the author- 


432 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


ity of ‘‘the Master’s’’ seal at one time, and pro- 
fessing ignorance of it at another, may be re- 
carded as consistent. 


Advance proofs of The Theosophist containing the 
article on ‘‘Theosophic Freethought’’ were sent to many 
persons in England and the United States, and the arti- 
cle itself was at once issued from Advar with a Madras 
imprint and sent broadcast throughout the Society in 
pamphlet form. No public attention was paid to it by 
either Mr. Judge or Mrs. Besant, as, under the pro- 
claimed neutrality of the T.S., any member thereof had 
full freedom and liberty to hold any opinions that might 
seem acceptable to him, and to express them. We have 
before called attention to the fact that no member of 
the T.S. was bound to any obligation other than assent 
to the First Object, and to the other fact that the Eso- 
teric Section or School admitted only (1) those who 
accepted in full the Three Objects of the T.S.; (2) who 
professed full belief in and acceptance of Theosophy and 
pledged themselves to ‘‘endeavor to make Theosophy a 
living power’’ in their life; who pledged themselves to 
‘‘support before the world the Theosophical Movement 
and its Founders’’; (3) who pledged themselves to strict 
voluntary obedience to the Rules of the School. These 
rules were clear and unequivocal. Every member of the 
Ii.S., before being permitted to enter it, was furnished 
with a copy of the Preliminary Memoranda, the pledge, 
and the Book of Rules, so that he might inform himself 
fully of the conditions of his entrance and continuance 
in the School, as well as of the sine qua non conditions 
precedent to any progress in esotericism. Thus whoever 
entered the School did so voluntarily with full knowl- 
edge in advance of what was required of him, with full 
warning that his difficulties would lie within himself, and 
pledged his ‘‘most solemn and sacred word of honour’’ 
to all the conditions. 

Both Mr. Old and Mr. Hdge were members of the Eso- 
teric School, the former having entered during the life 
of H.P.B., the latter after her passing. As the state- 


BEGINNINGS OF THE “JUDGE CASE” 433 


ments, criticisms, and charges in the Old and Edge arti- 
cle, and particularly the footnote just quoted, were in 
direct violation both of the spirit and the letter of some 
of the clauses of the pledge and certain of the Rules of 
the School, prompt and decisive action was taken by Mr. 
Judge and Mrs. Besant as Co-Heads of the E.S. Both 
Messrs. Old and Edge were in that geographical section 
which was under the immediate jurisdiction of Mrs. Be- 
sant. She therefore drew up a ‘“‘strictly private and 
confidential’’ circular letter dated ‘‘August, 1893,”’ 
which was signed by Mr. Judge with her and sent from 
London to all E.S. members throughout the world. At 
the same time both Messrs. Old and Edge were suspended 
from membership in the E.S. 

This circular, which was headed, ‘‘To All Members of 
K.S.T.,’’ reads, in part, as follows: 


In the July Theosophist.[1893] an article ap- 
peared signed by W. R. Old and 8. V. Edge, en- 
titled ‘‘Theosophic Freethought,’’ as a criticism 
on Brother Judge’s letter in Lucifer. No objec- 
tion except that of good taste could be made to 
the article considered as a criticism, since 
Brother Judge concedes to every one a right to 
their opinions and to the expression of such in 
every case except where questions of a pledge or 
of honor are concerned. So with the article we 
are not concerned, but we are with the foot-note 
OVEN panes 

The article was given to public printers and 
sent in advance to many persons in Kurope, but 
it was not sent in time to London, where Brother 
Judge was in July, to permit our cabling to 
India, and no previous notice was given Brother 
Judge, nor was he asked his views. 

This foot-note is, first, a violation of the pledge 
of secrecy made by Brother Old .. . and sec- 
ond, is a violation of honor and confidence as a 
member of the Council of the E.S.T. By reason 
of the above we are compelled to take action. 


434 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


Therefore ... we have for the present sus- 
pended them [Messrs. Old and Edge] from their 
membership in the E.S.T.... 

But the statement in above foot-note is itself 
untrue. The reorganization of the School in 
1891 was not based on a message from the Mas- 
ter: it was based on several letters and certifi- 
eates from H.P.B. (see Council Minutes) ex- 
plicitly making William Q. Judge her representa- 
tive in America, and on one from her assigning 
to Annie Besant the position she was to hold 
after her [H.P.B.’s] death. ... 


The circular also contained a signed statement by Mrs. 
Besant and other Councillors present at the meeting on 
May 27, 1891, refuting in positive terms the assertions 
and implications in the footnote to Messrs. Old and 
Kdge’s ‘*‘Theosophic Freethought.’’ To this we shall 
refer again in its proper connection.? 

To complete the picture of the marshaling of the op- 
posing forces the reader should now turn to The The- 
osophist for May, June, July, and August, 1893, and read 
carefully the successive instalments of Col. Olcott’s ‘‘Old 
Diary Leaves’’ first printed during those months. After 
the preliminary details of his first thirteen chapters, 
covering his acquaintance with H.P.B. and the crowd- 
ing events culminating in the publication of ‘‘Isis Un- 
veiled’’ in 1877, the Colonel pauses to discuss the writing 
of that work, the ‘‘collaboration’”’ of the Masters in its 
production, the nature of H.P.B., and the possible ex- 
planations of the mysteries of which he had caught many 
glimpses during the preceding three years. In Chapter 
XIV he lays down the seven hypotheses of which we have 
earlier spoken,? and proceeds to argue and discuss them 
through the sueceeding chapters in the fashion already 
indicated. In the August number he propounds his cen- 
tral idea, the dominant note to which he has all along 


*See Chapter XXXI. 
*See Chapter XXIII. 


BEGINNINGS OF THE “JUDGE CASE” 435 


been leading up. He says that H.P.B. ‘‘appears to have ° 
been the subject of a distinct mental evolution.’’ 

What he meant by this is very clearly shown and 
argued in the body of the chapter and subsequently. He 
meant that H.P.B. at best was a student of the Wisdom- 
Religion, the same as any and all others; that when she 
began her mission she was both ignorant and misinformed 
on many subjects and teachings which afterwards she 
learned as she ‘‘progressed.’’ Her sole and questionable 
advantage was in the possession of psychic and clair- 
voyant faculties which enabled the Masters to use her for 
Their purposes in the same way and under the same 
disadvantages as a control or guide uses a Spiritualist 
medium or that a mesmerist or hypnotizer uses a sensi- 
tive or subject. 

He proceeds to illustrate this fundamental idea of his 
by saying: 

Take, for instance, her teachings on Re-in- 
carnation, the strong foundation-stone of the 
the ancient occult philosophy, which was af- 
firmed in the Secret Doctrine and her other 
later writings. When we worked on Isis it was 
neither taught us by the Mahatmas, nor sup- 
ported by her in her literary controversies or 
private discussions, of those earlier days. She 
held to, and defended, the theory that human 
souls, after death, passed on by a course of 
purificatory evolution to other and more spir- 
itualized planets. ... 

She told Mr. Walker R. Old—who is my in- 
formant—that she was not taught the doctrine 
of Re-incarnation until 1879—when we were in 
Indiasc? : 

Ultimately, the doctrine of Re-incarnation 
was fully accepted and expounded, both in its 
exoteric sense and esoterically. 


In the course of his chapter he suggests that he has 
‘‘notes’’ of a conversation between one of the Mahatmas 


436 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


and himself in which the Adept affirmed the same theory 
of ‘‘purificatory evolution’’ on ‘‘higher spheres.”’ 
Naively he inquires: 

Is it possible that Re-incarnation was not 
taught this Adept by his Master, and that he, as 
well as H.P.B., had to learn it subsequently? 
There are said to be sixty-three stages of Adept- 
ship and it is not impossible. 


Colonel Oleott’s views of H.P.B. as a ‘‘student’’ had 
been very succinctly voiced by Mr. Old at the White 
Lotus Day commemoration at Adyar on May 8, 1893, 
and printed in The Theosophist for June. Mr. Old was 
introduced by Col. Olcott and made the address of the 
day. He said: 


It is provided in the Constitution of the So- 
ciety, that perfect freedom of opinion shall be 
allowed to all its members; but nothing would be 
more dangerous to the eatholicity of our doc- 
trines than to suppose this to convey with it the 
right, to any individual member, of forcing his 
views upon others; or of reading into the writ- 
ings of H.P.B., or any other person connected 
with the movement, anything of authority; or 
yet of enunciating therefrom a dogma or credo 
which shall be considered pre-eminently The- 
osophical or binding upon Theosophists gener- 
ally. And the dangers we have to face are un- 
doubtedly of this nature... 

What we now need to recognize is the merit 
of that self-devotion to the cause of Truth which 
characterized the life-work of H.P.B. No im- 
partial student of her writings can fail to recog- 
nize the indications of a steady unfoldment of 
mind, an ever-widening spiritual perception, 
with the concomitant changes of view-point and 
modifications of doctrine. 


Colonel Olcott, Messrs. Sinnett, Bertram Keightley, 
Old, Sturdy, Edge, the leading Hindus, and many 


BEGINNINGS OF THE “JUDGE CASE” 437 


others of lesser prominence were now all of one mind 
in regard to the ‘‘dangers’’ besetting the Society and 
the Movement; their ideas regarding H.P.B. now sown 
broadcast in America, England, Europe, and India. The 
machinery of the Society was in their hands, its most 
widely circulated publication under their control. What 
else was lacking in the equipment necessary to relegate 
H.P.B. and her defender, Judge, to the background, to 
subordinate the teachings of Theosophy given out by 
these two colleagues to the ‘‘more recent teachings’’ and 
the ‘‘progressive development’’ of other ‘‘students’’ and 
‘‘Occultists’’ more in harmony with the ‘‘official author- 
ity’’ of the President-Founder? What was still essen- 
tial to do away with the policy and example of H.P.B. 
and Mr. Judge and replace them by a management and 
guidance from Adyar, without risk of failure for the 
conspirators behind the scenes, and without breaking up 
the Society? The storm of 1884-5 had shown that how- 
ever violent the commotion, attacks from without could 
not destroy the integrity of the Movement nor the pres- 
tige of H.P.B. with the members. The Coues-Collins- 
Lane-Swn conspiracy had come far nearer achieving its 
object in 1889-90, because it had been hatched within the 
Society, and had the tacit sympathy and support of Col. 
Olcott until he saw that its success would ruin the So- 
ciety. But it, too, had failed, because H.P.B. and Mr. 
Judge were both alive and had, in the newly formed Eso- 
teric Section, a loyal battalion of members of the Society 
pledged to Theosophy first. 

This time the conspiracy had all the elements of victory 
in hand save one only. Could Mrs. Besant be brought 
to join hands with Col. Olcott, Mr. Sinnett, and the rest, 
the combination would be invincible. But for more than 
two years she had already taken her stand in the most 
positive manner, for all that H.P.B. and Judge had 
from the beginning proclaimed and fought for, in princi- 
ple and in practice. Could she be brought to change sides 
on the very eve of battle? 

Determined to banish the spectre of the ‘‘dead’’ 
H.P.B. whose memory was still a more potent influence 


438 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


than their living claims to preferment, it was all too 
clear that this could not be done except by ruining the 
reputation of Mr. Judge. Could Mrs. Besant be made 
the fulerum of their energies, then Mr. Judge could be 
routed, H.P.B. consigned to the region of eulogiums, 
and a victorious future assured to the Society and its 
‘‘leaders.’’?’ There would be no greater risk than that a 
few recalcitrants might have to be read out of the So- 
ciety or forced to resign or secede. 

But Mrs. Besant was no ignorant and superstitious 
‘‘Christian,’’ like Madame Coulomb, and therefore not 
to be approached with threats and bribes. She was no 
psychic or medium like Mrs. Cables and Miss Mabel Col- 
lins, therefore to be swept off her feet by some astral 
intoxication or personal experience in psychology. Nor 
was she an Elliott Coues, brilliant but conscienceless, 
educated but steeped in ethical savagery, to whom The- 
osophy was a mere means to personal ends. If she were 
to be seduced and suborned—made to serve as dupe and 
tool of ‘‘the mighty magic of Prakriti,’’—then indeed 
would need be called in play the fine art of oriental sub- 
tlety and sophistication in the mysteries of the govern- 
ing forces in human life; subtlety and sophistication 
laughed at by the wisest of Western minds, whose very 
incredulity and scepticism in regard to their own sus- 
ceptibility to the sway of ‘‘Occult powers’’ makes them, 
at occasion, victim to their own virtues. Messrs. Hume, 
Sinnett, Massey, Olcott, and many another able, sin- 
cere and honorable-minded man had been, in turn and 
in successive links, so influenced, all unknown to them- 
selves, that their course had become the exact opposite 
to that taught and pursued by Masters and by H.P.B.; 
the opposite of the very course originally taken by them- 
selves. And the substitution of charts, the change in di- 
rection, had been so subtly accomplished that the more 
the victims went astray, the more profoundly convinced 
they were of the rectitude and consistency of their 
conduct! 

The welter of fact and opinion covering the years 
1893-5 is not easy to assemble, assort, relate, and marshal 


BEGINNINGS OF THE “JUDGE CASE” 439 


into something like order and proportion. Yet this is the 
task that confronts, not merely the historian, but every 
Theosophical student who would be true to his duty, to 
the Movement and himself. A firm conclusion must 
be reached or the student will always be harassed by 
doubts, bewilderments, uncertainties. Such a firm con- 
clusion will be arrived at either as the result of knowl- 
edge acquired at first hand and weighed with impar- 
tiality in the light of the principles of Theosophy, or it 
will rest upon no better basis than hearsay and reliance 
upon authority—mere blind faith, of which the world has 
ever held an overplus and from which all mankind suffers 
continually. 

Under the criteria afforded by the Theosophy which 
all the protagonists professed, the student has to take 
into consideration not only the physical facts and factors, 
but he has to ascertain and evaluate factors and phe- 
nomena metaphysical—the Psychic, the Manasic, the 
Spiritual components of actions and events. These vari- 
ous constituents are not disjunctive and sequential, but 
integral and correlative, their governing importance as 
prime factors of correct judgment in inverse order to 
that habitually employed by mankind. Moreover, since 
it is certain that whatever, either of Truth or error or 
falsehood there may be in the world, or whatever their 
ultimate source, they have all reached mankind through 
the agency of human beings, it follows that the student 
must, of necessity, weigh actors as well as actions; per- 
sons and personages as well as their statements; motives 
and character as well as opinions and belief. And there 
is no alternative route, Theosophically or practically, 
either to accurate knowledge or correct judgment. As 
so well put in the Preface to H. P. Blavatsky’s ‘‘Key to 
Theosophy’’: 


To the mentally lazy or obtuse, Theosophy 
must remain a riddle; for in the world mental 
as in the world spiritual each man must pro- 
gress by his own efforts. The writer cannot do 
the reader’s thinking for him, nor would the 


440 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


latter be any the better off if such vicarious 
thought were possible. 


As with all conspiracies, much of what occurred in 
1893 and subsequently is enveloped in the obscurity of 
secrecy and silence. But there is no maxim, exoteric 
or esoteric, more profoundly true than the aphorism that 
‘‘murder will out.’’ Perception, inference, and testimony 
are all essential components of true knowledge, and 
when the ascertainable facts, the relevant testimony ex- 
tant, are fitted together, all the rest becomes a matter 
of unavoidable inference to the logical mind: the Great 
Betrayal is exposed in all its hideous blackness, and the 
subsequent degradation and disintegration of the The- 
osophical Movement into sects and sectaries seen to be 
the Karmic consequence of the actions of the students 
themselves. 


CHAPTER XXVII 
MRS. BESANT CHANGES SIDES 


Ir is only by observing with utmost care the sequence 
of events in 1893 and 1894 that the student will be able 
to perceive the causal and invisible springs from which 
those events emanated, and thus to relate the exoteric 
to the esoteric aspects of the record made by the oppos- 
ing forces on the field of battle. In this respect it is like 
the study of a game of chess, with its successive alter- 
nating moves of the effigies of the different classes by 
the opposing protagonists: Judge on the one side, the 
President-Founder on the other; the capture of the 
*‘(ueen’’ the essential of the ‘‘checkmate.”’ 

Mr. Bertram Keightley, whose indiscretions had 
formed one of the ingredients of the Coues-Collins ex- 
plosion, had been sent temporarily to the United States 
by H.P.B. There, under H.P.B.’s instructions, Mr. 
Judge had put him to work to enable him to recover his 
stamina. Despite his follies, H.P.B. had written most 
kindly of him to various American workers, as he well 
deserved in view of his many services to the Cause. 

In a little while Mr. Keightley, finding that the Amer- 
ican members looked up to him as one who had been 
close to H.P.B. for years, began to speak as an ‘‘Oc- 
cultist’? upon the many problems treated of in H.P.B.’s 
Instructions to the Esoteric Section. These interpreta- 
tions of Mr. Keightley’s were taken by many as ‘‘au- 
thoritative,’’ and Mr. Keightley was considered as the 
‘‘representative’’ of H.P.B. This finally compelled 
H.P.B. to issue the Notice of August 9,1890. This Notice 
was, in its essential matters, as follows: 


3. The only ‘‘orders’’ in Instructions which I 
issue in the U. S. are through Mr. William Q. 
441 


442 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


Judge, or those which I myself sign my name to 
with my physical hand. 

4, Any report or statement by any one of or- 
ders or instructions alleged to be by me in any 
other form than as stated in the foregoing para- 
graph are and shall be false; and any member 
acting on any other sort of order and without 
first sending the same to Mr. William Q. Judge 
will be expelled from the Section. 

5. I desire above all that the members of this 
Section shall exercise as much common-sense as 
they are capable of and that they shall avoid 
all dealings with astral messages, reports, 
spooks and the like until they shall have attained 
the requisite knowledge and ability. 


Mr. Keightley was recalled to London and at the 
end of the year 1890 transferred to India, whither he 
went in time to serve as the delegate of the American, 
British, and European Sections at the Adyar Conven- 
tion. During the year 1891 Mr. Keightley remained in 
India as a volunteer helper at the headquarters and 
at the Adyar Convention at the close of 1891 was elected 
General Secretary of the Indian Section. His work 
in India brought him an acquaintance with every promi- 
nent member of the Society and a thorough knowledge 
of the condition of affairs in the Indian Branches. The 
deplorable state in which he found them is set forth 
at length in his ‘‘Report’’ to the Indian Convention 
at the close of 1892—a Report given in detail in the 
‘‘Supplement’’ to The Theosophist for January, 1893, 
and to which we have before adverted.? 

Mr. Bertram Keightley was a man of wealth, of good 
education and excellent abilities. He had become at- 
tached to H.P.B. at the time of her European visit in 
the summer of 1884. He and his nephew, Dr. Archibald 
Keightley, had contributed freely in time, money, and 
work to the activities in England which followed upon 
H.P.B.’s settlement there in 1887. To them more than 

*See Chapter XXIII. 


MRS. BESANT CHANGES SIDES 443 


to any and all others was due the sustentation of the 
work in England until the conversion of Mrs. Besant 
in the early summer of 1889. His relation to the 
Movement naturally brought him a personal acquain- 
tance which, by 1893, covered the whole area of the So- 
ciety, in the United States, in England, on the Continent, 
and in Asia. It was known by all that he had been firmly 
loyal personally to H.P.B. during all the troubled events 
of the last seven years of her stormy career, and it 
was known by some that he had done what few indeed 
were able to do—he had submitted without resentment 
to drastic correction and discipline at H.P.B.’s hands. 
Naturally materialistic he had, like all materialists whose 
attention is finally awakened, been intensely interested 
in the psychical aspect of the teachings of Theosophy. 
Having no capacities—or infirmities—of his own in a 
psychical way, he was the more impressed by those who 
had, or claimed to have, such ‘‘gifts.’’ It was this ten- 
dency which had involved him with Miss Mabel Collins. 
In India, a land which teems with ‘‘Gurus’’ and their 
‘disciples’? whose whole life-effort is the development 
of abnormal faculties, he soon came in contact with 
devotees of the various sorts of Yoga, and amongst these 
was G. N. Chakravarti, whose destiny it was to become 
the first of the evil geniuses of Mrs. Besant. 

Gyanendra Nath Chakravarti was born a Brahmin of 
the Sandilya Gotra. In his twentieth year he became, 
through the influence of his uncle, a member of the 
Cawnpore Branch of the T.S. Young as he was, he was 
selected as a member of the Committee which, at the 
Convention in December, 1884, unanimously recom- 
mended that no defense be made on behalf of H.P.B. 
against the Coulomb charges. In the intervening years 
he had contributed occasional articles to The Theoso- 
phist and was, in 1893, President of the Students The- 
osophical Association at Allahabad. He had been edu- 
cated in Western ideas, first at a missionary school at 
Benares, then at Calcutta University, and at Muir Col- 
lege, Allahabad. Subsequently, he had filled the chair 
of physical science at a college in Bareilly, and, at the 


Add THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


time of meeting Mr. Bertram Keightley, he was Pro- 
fessor of mathematics at Muir College. He had also 
studied law and had been admitted to practice in the 
English courts in India. Nor had his breeding been in 
any’ wise neglected from the oriental standpoint. He 
had been strictly reared in all the observances of his 
caste, was thoroughly versed in the scriptures and tradi- 
tions of Brahminism, and was highly esteemed by his 
co-religionists as well as among the English. He was 
well known to Col. Olcott and on friendly terms with 
both native and English members of the T.S. in India. 

Although Prof. Chakravarti had not been active 
Theosophically and was not a member of the Esoteric 
Section but was, on the contrary, a chela of one of the 
numerous Yoga systems in India, Mr. Bertram Keight- 
ley soon came to believe him to be, if not a Mahatma, at 
least an Occultist of high rank and in direct connec- 
tion with the Masters of H.P.B. Moreover, in the con- 
genial atmosphere of Col. Olcott and the other workers 
at headquarters, Mr. Keightley found tendencies and 
predilections in the line of the Third Object fully in 
flower. In the circumstances it was inevitable that these 
influences should divorce him more and more from the 
lines followed by H.P.B. and those wedded to her view 
of the true mission of the Theosophical Society. 

By the spring of 1893, ‘‘Old Diary Leaves’’ and the 
direct personal exertion of Col. Olcott’s influence had 
largely accomplished their intended purpose in India 
and to a considerable degree in the West. The time was 
ripe to carry the war of ideas into the enemy’s country. 
This was the real occasion for Mr. Bertram Keightley’s 
going from India, first to the United States and then 
to England, and no better ally or agent could have been 
selected for the work in hand. Accordingly, Mr. Keight- 
ley attended the Convention of the American Section 
in April, 1893, as delegate from the Indian Section and 
as bearer of Col. Olcott’s Presidential communication, 
as has been recited.? 

As will more and more appear, Mr. Judge knew well 

*See Chapter XXV. 


MRS. BESANT CHANGES SIDES 4 AD 


the real purpose behind all of Col. Olcott’s moves, and 
saw those moves clearly long in advance. Concurrently 
with the questions ostensibly raised over dogmatism and 
neutrality, with the unsolved problem of the status of 
H.P.B. and her teachings, with the corollary difficulties 
evoked by the dust of side issues raised to obscure the 
real cause of conflict and thus confuse the membership, 
Mr. Judge knew he had to face the hidden source of all 
these dangers. This was the secret Brahminical hos- 
tility to the great First Object of the Society, which 
had been slowly festering since 1881, which had per- 
verted the Movement in India, and which, if not checked, 
must result in the corruption or destruction of the So- 
ciety in the West. Mr. Judge had, therefore, for a long 
time been steadily at work to allay Brahminical suspi- 
cions that the Society was a Buddhist propaganda in 
disguise, and to bring the Society in India to a more 
close adhesion to the line of the First Object. Just prior 
to Mr. Bertram Keightley’s return to the West he had 
begun an active public campaign along the same lines. 
He contributed to Lucfer for April, 1893, a striking 
article, ‘‘India, A Trumpet Call at a Crisis,’’ to which 
the student is referred, in connection with the ‘‘Inter- 
esting Letter,’’ published in the same number of Lucifer. 
At the same time he drew up an eloquently worded and 
moving appeal which he addressed ‘‘To the Brahmins 
of India,’’ and this he sent to as many Hindu members 
as could be reached. This circular he also published in 
The Path for May, 1893, with a prefatory note, reading 
as follows: 


The subjoined circular has been sent by me 
to as many Brahmins as I could reach. I have 
purposely used the words ‘‘ Brahmins of India’’ 
in the title because I hold to the view of the 
Vedas and the ancient laws that the Brahmin is 
not merely he who is born of a Brahmin father. 
In America lack of accurate knowledge respect- 
ing Indian religions causes a good deal of mis- 
apprehension about Brahmanism and Buddhism, 


446 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


as very many think Buddhism to be India’s re- 
ligion, whereas in fact it is not, but, on the con- 
trary, the prevailing form of belief in India is 
Brahmanism. This necessary distinction should 
be remembered and false notions upon the sub- 
ject dissipated as much as possible. Buddhism 
does not prevail in India, but in countries out- 
side it, such as Burmah, Japan, Ceylon, and 
others. The misconception by so many Amer- 
icans about the true home of Buddhism if not 
corrected may tend to cause the Brahmins to 
suppose that the T.S. here spreads abroad the 
wrong notion; and no form of religion should 
be preferred in the T'.S. above another. 


Still earlier than the above articles, Mr. Judge had 
written privately to Mr. George EK. Wright, a leading 
member of the Chicago Branch, suggesting that an ef- 
fort be made to secure representation for the T.S. 
at the World’s Parliament of Religions to be held at 
the Chicago Fair in 1893. This was in the Fall of 1892. 
Mr. Wright set to work and after some difficulty the 
necessary recognition was achieved and dates arranged — 
for the Theosophists. The idea of Theosophical repre- 
sentation was received with acclaim in Europe and India 
as well as among the American members. When Mr. 
Bertram Keightley arrived in America Mr. Judge at 
once broached to him the advisability of Brahminical as 
well as Buddhistic representation at the Parliament and, 
without disclosing more than the apparent advantages, 
suggested that such representation should be under the 
auspices of the T.S., and requested Mr. Keightley’s 
advice and aid in procuring representation the most dis- 
tinguished possible. Mr. Bertram Keightley urged the 
selection of Chakravarti as representing the Brahmins 
and H. Dharmapala, a distinguished Ceylonese, for the 
Buddhists. He undertook to secure the consent of 
Chakravarti. Accordingly, subscriptions were opened in 
the United States and in England to defray the traveling 
expenses of the two delegates. 


MRS. BESANT CHANGES SIDES 4A 


Serious difficulties at once supervened, for while 
Chakravarti was very agreeable to the proposed plan, 
grave objections were raised among the Brahmins. Such 
a mingling with ‘‘Mlechhas’’ (foreigners) was offensive 
to their teachings and traditions, and it was a violation 
of caste for a Brahmin to cross the seas. Thus, if he 
attended at all, Chakravarti would be ‘‘out-caste’’ for 
the time being and would be compelled upon his return 
either to renounce his caste or to submit to purifica- 
tory rites which, to Western minds, would be supersti- 
tious and degrading, and to an orthodox Brahmin ex- 
tremely humiliating. 

Nevertheless, the difficulties were resolved and all 
objections overcome. Chakravarti formally accepted 
the invitation to attend the Parliament as the guest of 
the Society. Three Brahminical associations were in- 
duced to countenance his mission by appointing him to 
represent them. They were: the Hari Bhakti Prodayum 
of Cawnpore; Varnashrama Dharma Sabbha of Delhi, 
and the Sanatan Dharma Rakshani Sabbha of Meerut. 
All this, as may be inferred, occupied several months in 
its accomplishment. 

Meanwhile Mr. Judge had followed up the articles 
mentioned by publishing an editorial in The Path for 
July, 1893, with the significant title, ‘‘A Plot Against 
the Theosophical Society.’’ Ostensibly this was drawn 
up as a warning concerning a renewed series of attacks 
on H.P.B. by certain enemies outside the Society 
(Messrs. W. Emmette Coleman and Vv. Solovyoff, al- 
though not mentioned by name), but the real caution 
is contained in the concluding paragraph, reading as 
follows: 


There is some likelihood that slight assistance 
will be rendered by one or two disaffected per- 
sons in India, who in the past have aided in 
spreading similar attacks which have been pub- 
lished in spiritualistic journals. From time to 
time we may be able to present further plans 
and purposes of this brigade of plotters for the 


448 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


information of theosophists in advance. The 
plotters expect this to hurt the Society, but the- 
osophists should know that nothing can hurt it 
if they remain loyal to their convictions, if they 
endeavor to understand the theosophic philoso- 
phy, if they avoid personalities and confine 
themselves, as was suggested by one of the 
Adepts long ago, to philosophical and ethical 
propaganda designed to benefit the moral na- 
ture of the community in which a Theosophist 
may live. No plot can avail against this. But 
we have thought it well, on behalf of the con- 
spirators, to publish this notice as a preliminary 
to further details when the time is ready. 


Other articles in The Path all written and published 
in view of the disastrous undertow already pulling the 
members from their allegiance to the First Object of 
the Society and their reverence for H.P.B., have al- 
ready been noted. All these articles had an application 
to events immediately at hand and forthcoming, and 
not merely an informative and teaching value on The- 
osophical doctrines. The same is true of Mr. Judge’s 
rendition of the ‘‘Bhagavad-Gita’’ and his ‘‘Ocean of 
Theosophy.’’ The one gave to the students a faithful 
version of the greatest of the Brahminical philosophi- 
cal disquisitions; the other put into clear Hinglish a 
correct presentation of Theosophical teachings, free 
from the crudities of Mr. Sinnett’s ‘‘EKsoteric Budd- 
hism,’’ and without the materialistic bias and specula- 
tions of that book. The ‘‘Ocean’’ remains to this day 
the one authentic treatment in small compass of the whole 
of the vast subjects dealt with in the ‘‘Secret Doctrine,’’ 
and is, in fact, a simplified and brief version of Madame 
Blavatsky’s great work. It was first issued early in 
1893. 

As before indicated in the case of H.P.B. in analogous 
conditions, we believe that the various references and 
quotations covering Mr. Judge’s activities show clearly 


MRS. BESANT CHANGES SIDES 44.9 


his prescience. They show too the successive steps he 
took to allay and counteract the currents running be- 
neath the smooth and prosperous surface of affairs. 

Later in the year 1893 Mr. Judge published in the 
September Path the article ‘‘Our Convictions; Shall 
We Assert Them?’’ This was in reply to an inquiry as 
to whether the neutrality of the Society precluded the 
expression by a member of convictions sincerely held 
by him ‘‘for fear of a vague future dogmatism.’’ The 
article re-affirmed the view that every member, being 
free to hold such opinions as he might choose, he had 
necessarily the same freedom of expression, so long as 
such expression was not made in the name of the So- 
ciety or as an official, nor to coerce others who might 
hold and express contrary opinions. In the November 
Path Mr. Judge printed ‘‘Impolitic Reference— 
‘H.P.B.,’ ’? followed in the December Lucifer by ‘‘Bla- 
vatskianism in and out of Season.’’ These articles struck 
the same note of freedom of individual opinion and ex- 
pression, and at the same time accentuated the danger 
of their abuse by enthusiasts, as well as voicing a strong 
caution against mere reliance on and following of any one, 
however highly esteemed, as an ‘‘authority.’’ Mrs. 
Besant wrote a very clear essay on the same subjects. 
Her article was entitled ‘‘Conviction and Dogmatism,’’ 
and was published in The Path for October, Lucifer for 
November, and The Theosophist for December. 

As in the similar cases during the lifetime of H.P.B., 
the students for the most part read the various articles 
published, talked of them, wondered in some cases who 
and what might be hinted at, but when the very test 
came to which these articles related, were unable to make 
any application. Of these, the most instructive example 
is that of Mrs. Besant. She had had the benefit of 
nearly two years of close relations with H.P.B. Of all 
the defenders of H.P.B.’s good faith and mission she 
had been the most outspoken. The student will recall 
her article ‘‘The Theosophical Society and H.P.B.,”’ 
written without H.P.B.’s knowledge, though published 


450 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


before her death, as well as the article ‘‘Theosophy and 
Christianity,’’ published some months after the pass- 
ing of H.P.B. Likewise her part of the proceedings 
of the Council of the E.S. immediately after H.P.B.’s 
passing, and her repeated remarks during the Kuropean 
Convention in July, 1891, evinced the same rigid, un- 
compromising view of the unique status and importance 
of H.P.B. as Messenger and Teacher. She had ad- 
hered with intense conviction to these views during the 
two following years, and had supported Mr. Judge with 
fervor as the one man in the Society who was true to 
the lines laid by H.P.B. and fully cognizant of them. 
Her quoted articles and others equally significant showed 
the depths of her convictions. She suspended Mr. Wal- 
ter R. Old from his membership in the Esoteric School 
for his veiled attack in the article on ‘‘Theosophic Free- 
thought.’’ This was in August, 1893, and the suspen- 
sion was declared by her to be because, ‘‘first, a viola- 
tion of the pledge of secrecy made by Brother Old, and 
second, is a violation of honor and confidence as a mem- 
ber of the Council of the E.S.T.’’ Furthermore she de- 
clared in the same circular that Mr. Old’s ‘‘statement is 
itself untrue,’’ and proceeded to give forthwith a formal 
declaration of the facts in rebuttal of Old’s claim—a 
declaration signed by herself and others present at the 
Council meeting of May 27, 1891. In the same month— 
August, 1893—in her ‘‘Answers to Correspondence’’ in 
the Ii.S. she had given the letter of H.P.B. written in 
1889 in which H.P.B. had declared Judge to be the Link 
between the American Esotericists and the Masters. 
This statement by H.P.B. was as follows: 


Lonpon, Oct. 23, 1889. 

... The Esoteric Section and its life in the 
U.S.A. depend upon W.Q.J. remaining its agent 
and what he is now. The day W.Q.J. resigns, 
H.P.B. will be virtually dead for the Ameri- 
eans. W.Q.J.is the Antaskarana (the ‘‘Link’’) 
between the two Manas (es), the American 

®See Chapters XIX and XX. 


MRS. BESANT CHANGES SIDES 451 


thought and the Indian—or rather the trans- 


Himalayan esoteric knowledge. Diaz. 
Hi PiB ries. 


While she was in the United States to attend the 
Parliament of religions Mrs. Besant joined with Mr. 
Judge in signing a prefatory note which was published 
in The Path for October, 1893, and entitled, ‘‘A Word 
on the ‘Secret Doctrine,’ An Old Letter Republished.’’ 
The letter in question was a long extract from the fa- 
mous letter from the Master ‘‘K. H.’’ phenomenally de- 
livered to Col. Olcott on shipboard in August, 1888, at 
the time Olcott was on his way to London to ‘‘fight it 
out with H.P.B.’’ over the question of the formation of 
the E.S.4 The prefatory note ran: 


There is so much discussion going on just now 
in the Theosophical movement as to the value of 
the Secret Doctrine, as to the amount of aid 
given to H. P. Blavatsky in the compilation of 
it, and as to her position as a Teacher in Oc- 
cult matters, that it appears to us that the re- 
publication of an old letter—published in 1888— 
which bears on these questions, is peculiarly 
timely, and may be of service to many who did 
not have the opportunity of reading it on its 
first issue. The letter is, of course, of no au- 
thority for those members of the T.S. who do 
not share our sentiments of reverence for the 
Masters, but for those who do, the interest of it 
will be great. It was received in mid-ocean by 
Col. Olcott, P.T.S., and was originally pub- 
lished with his consent in a small pamphlet en- 
titled ‘‘An Explanation important to all The- 
osophists,’’ issued by H.P.B. 

ANNIE Besant. 
WruaMm Q. Jupae. 


In the same month—that is, October, 1893—Mrs. Be- 
sant had had published in her magazine, Lucifer, her 
“See Chapter X. 


452 THE. THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 
\ 


article on ‘‘Gurus and Chelas,’’ before referred to.® At 
the same time Mrs. Besant prepared the article on ‘‘Con- 
viction and Dogmatism,’’ mentioned. Thereafter she 
was silent on the great issues waging publicly and pri- 
vately in the Society and the E.S. until after her arrival 
in India. The occasion of this silence and the great 
change it betokened must now be considered. 

All arrangements having been perfected, G. N. Chak- 
ravarti left India in June and journeyed to England 
where he remained two months, chiefly as the guest of 
Mr. Bertram Keightley. He met all the leading The- 
osophists in Britain and was intensely active among 
them during his entire stay. His coming had been antici- 
pated with the utmost interest, as may be imagined, and 
his suavity, his versatility and great knowledge, added 
to the lure of oriental mystery with which he was sur- 
rounded, gave him a vogue that rose to veneration on 
the part of the ‘‘household’’ at Avenue Road. ‘Toward 
the end of August he sailed for America in company 
with Mrs. Besant, Miss Muller, and others. In the 
United States the party was received by Mr. Judge and 
leading American Theosophists as distinguished visi- 
tors. Chakravarti soon rose to the position of an unique 
presence, almost an ambassador from the Hast. His 
share in the proceedings of the Parliament became a 
mission more than a function, so that he was invited to 
participate in the dedicatory ceremonies at the opening 
of the Congress of Religions. The Theosophical pro- 
gram during the Congress was by all odds the most 
notable and noteworthy success of the proceedings, and 
in this success Prof. Chakravarti and Mrs. Besant held 
the leading place. The effect of all this upon the gen- 
eral public and the membership was immediate and 
marked. An immense interest in everything Theosophical 
sprang up. The whole Theosophical world was elated. 
To be called a ‘‘Theosophist’’ was equivalent to ‘‘honor- 
able mention’’; to enjoy the personal acquaintance of 
Chakravarti and Mrs. Besant a coveted distinction. 


*See preceding chapter. 


MRS. BESANT CHANGES SIDES 453 


Mrs. Besant had already acquired fame as an Oc- 
cultist and ascetic. She had become a strict vegetarian 
in diet; she carried her own table utensils with her on 
her travels; she followed rigidly the various ‘‘practices’’ 
laid down in oriental schools for ‘‘development.’’ The 
savoir faire, the gravity of decorum, the great ability 
of Chakravarti, the extreme respect he manifested to- 
wards her, the deference of Mr. Bertram Keightley 
toward this friend who was almost if not quite a Master, 
all weighed heavily and cumulatively with Mrs. Besant. 
She had discovered that Chakravarti possessed and 
practised ‘‘psychic powers,’’ and as, in spite of all her 
proclamations and all her practices she was woefully 
deficient in these ‘‘gifts,’? it was imevitable that she 
should view him with more than admiration. ‘‘Not 
psychic or spiritual in the least—all intellect,’’ as H.P.B. 
had written of her to Mr. Judge in the letter of March 
27, 1891—it is all too clear that it was borne in on Mrs. 
Besant that here was her coveted opportunity to acquire 
those powers and faculties of which she knew only at 
second hand. She suffered herself to be ‘‘magnetized’’ 
by Chakravarti, and came more and more under the 
spell of his charm. On his part, Chakravarti received 
her devotions with elaborate punctilio. On their com- 
mon journeying he watched over her with protective 
care to shield her from too close contact with the un- 
worthy. He slept outside her door that she might be 
fitly sheltered from all disturbance, and advised with 
her as to her occult ‘‘progress.’’ 

All this, it need scarcely be said, was in direct viola- 
tion of her pledge in the Esoteric Section, as well as in 
spirit and in letter a breach of the Rules of the HS. 
Quite naturally these conspicuous mutual attentions did 
not altogether escape notice from unfriendly as well as 
friendly sources. Mr. Judge took occasion, therefore, 
to call to Mrs. Besant’s attention the adverse interpre- 
tation that might easily be placed upon her conduct, as 
well as to caution her in regard to the Rules of the 
School governing the relations of Probationers with 


fg 
454 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


teachers and teachings outside the strict lines estab- 
lished in the Preliminary Memoranda and in the 
Instructions. 

It will be recalled that when Mrs. Besant had first been 
invited to visit India, immediately following the Huro- 
pean Convention of 1891, her trip had been given up on 
the ostensible grounds of her health—in reality because 
of the charges she went to New York to place before Mr. 
Judge. When again urged to visit India in 1892 she 
had consulted Mr. Judge and had, on his advice, visited 
the United States on a lecturing tour, as recounted.’ 
When Mr. Bertram Keightley returned to England in 
the spring of 1893, he laid before Mrs. Besant a renewed 
request from the Hindus for a visit from her the follow- 
ing winter, and this was supplemented by urgent en- 
treaties of Col. Oleott’s. Immediately after her return 
from her American trip she yielded to these insistencies 
and herself published the news in the ‘‘ Watch-Tower’’ 
of Lucifer for June, 1893. 

Mrs. Besant and Prof. Chakravarti arrived at London 
on their return from America, early in October, 1893. 
After a short stay in England, Chakravarti sailed for 
home, followed a week later by Mrs. Besant and the 
Countess Wachtmeister. Mrs. Besant arrived at Colombo 
early in November, where she was met by Col. Olcott 
and a party of headquarters aides. Six weeks were spent 
in Ceylon and in reaching Adyar, where the party ar- 
rived on Christmas Day, 1893, just preceding the Con- 
vention. At the Convention Mrs. Besant delivered five 
lectures and, after a short rest, proceeded on a tour of 
India, accompanied by Col. Olcott and others. This 
tour engaged her until March, 1894, when she set sail 
once more on her return voyage to England. In all 
the annals of the Theosophical Society there is nothing 
comparable to this Indian visit of Mrs. Besant’s. From 
the first moment of her landing hers was a vice-regal 
progress and a triumph. Natives and Huropeans, mem- 
bers and non-members of the Society, crowded her with 


*See Chapter XXI. 
™See Chapter XXVI. 


MRS. BESANT CHANGES SIDES 455 


attentions. The pages of The Theosophist during the 
months of her presence in India were burdened with de- 
scriptions and laudations devoted to the avatara ‘‘ Anna- 
bai,’’ as she was christened by the enthusiastic Hindus. 
During her trip she visited the sacred places of India, 
held conferences with leading priests, proclaimed herself 
an Indian in heart and feeling, and took the Brahminical 
thread. An article contributed by her over her signa- 
ture to the native publication, the daily Amnta Bazar 
Patrika, expresses in her own words some of her views 
at the time—views which explain in part the frenzy of 
adulation she excited among the Hindus; views of ex- 
treme interest when contrasted with Mrs. Besant’s 
activities in India for the past eight or ten years. We 
quote from the reprint in The Theosophist, ‘‘Supple- 
ment’’ for March, 1894: 


My work in the sphere of politics is over, and 
J shall never resume it... 

I say this in answer to your suggestion that 
I should be aroused to take interest in Indian 
‘‘affairs.’? To be able to lay at the feet of 
India any service is to me full reward for the 
many sufferings of a stormy life through which 
the power of service has been won. But the India 
that I love and reverence, and would fain see 
living among the nations, is not an India west- 
ernized, rent with the struggles of political par- 
ties, heated with the fires of political passions, 
with a people ignorant and degraded, while those 
who might_have raised them are fighting for 
the loaves and fishes of political triumph. I 
have seen too much of this among the ‘‘prog- 
ressed and civilized nations’’ of the West to have 
any desire to see such a civilization over-spread- 
ing what was Aryavarta. The India to which 
IT belong in faith and heart is . . . a civilization 
in which spiritual knowledge was accounted 
highest title to honour, and in which the whole 
people reverenced and sought after spiritual 


456 


THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


truth. To help in turning India into another 
Great Britain or another Germany is an ambi- 
tion that does not allure me; the India I would 
give my life to help in building is an India 
learned in the ancient philosophy, pulsing with 
the ancient religion,—an India to which all 
other lands should look for spiritual lght,— 
where the life of all should be materially sim- 
ple, but intellectually noble and _ spiritually 
sublime. 

The whole of my life and of my energies are 
given to the Theosophical Society, because the 
Society is intended to work in all nations for 
the realisation of this spiritual ideal; for the 
sake of this it deliberately eschews all poli- 
tics, embraces men of all parties, welcomes men 
of all faiths, declines to ostracise any man, any 
party or any faith. I may not mingle in a politi- 
eal fray which would make one temporary party 
regard me with enmity; for the message of spir- 
itual life belongs equally to both and may not be 
rendered unacceptable by its bearer wearing a 
political garment which is a defiance of those 
clad in other political robes. The politician must 
ever be at war; my mission is one of peace. 
Therefore I enter not the political field; and in 
the religious field I seek to show men of every 
faith that they share a common spiritual heri- 
tage and should look through the forms that di- 
vide them to the spirit that makes them one. 
It is the recognition of this which makes Hindu- 
ism ever a non-proselyting religion. ... 

I write this lengthy explanation of my abso- 
lute refusal to have anything to do with polities 
because any expression of love and confidence 
from Indians goes straight to my heart,... 
because I honestly believe that the future of 
India, the greatness of India and the happiness 
of her people, can never be secured by political 
methods, but only by the revival of her philoso- 


MRS. BESANT CHANGES SIDES 457 


phy and religion. To this, therefore, I must give 
all my energies, and I must refuse to spread 
them over other fields. 

ANNIE BESANT. 


Now, having traced the successive moves of Mr. Judge, 
and having followed Mrs. Besant’s successive positions 
on the chessboard, it is necessary to review Col. Olcott’s 
share in the strategy and tactics of the rapidly cul- 
minating manoeuvres. We have shown him in his ‘‘Old 
Diary Leaves,’’ in his Presidential Addresses, in his let- 
ter to the American Section Convention of 1893, in his 
part in the ‘‘ White Lotus Day”’ celebration at Adyar on 
May 8, 1893, in his use of Mr. Sturdy as a pawn, and 
of Mr. Walter R. Old as a more important piece through 
which to make his moves. We have partly indicated 
the glamour of deference, devotion, and extravagant at- 
tentions with which Mrs. Besant was enveloped by Col. 
Oleott and his followers in sequence to the mission of 
Mr. Bertram Keightley and the Occult lure held out by 
Prof. Chakravarti. This should be contrasted with the 
attentions paid at the same time by the President- 
Founder to Mr. Judge and H.P.B. Thus: 

When the first copies of Mr. Judge’s ‘‘Ocean of The- 
osophy’’ arrived at Adyar, Col. Olcott took time to write 
a review of the book. It will be found in The Theoso- 
phist for September, 1893. Colonel Olcott calls it an 
‘teresting little volume’’ which is ‘‘another proof of 
Mr. Judge’s tireless activity and commercial enterprise. ”’ 
He says that in print, paper, and binding it is ‘‘fault- 
less’? and ‘‘far and away beyond anything we can do 
at Madras.’’ He goes on: ‘‘I wish I could unquali- 
fiedly praise his present work; but I cannot. It contains 
some errors that are flagrant.’’ The errors are then 
detailed; some typographical; some, errors of deriva- 
tion of words; others, words said to be Sanskrit which 
are not; Mr. Sinnett was not ‘‘an official in the Govern- 
ment of India,’’ but the Editor of the Pioneer news- 
paper. And, as it seems to the President-Founder, ‘‘ Mr. 
Judge makes a sad mistake in saying ‘in place of the 


458 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


‘¢ Absolute’? we can use the word space,’ and making it 
one of the divisions of the sevenfold universe.’’ As 
Mr. Judge’s brief sentences thus quoted from do but 
repeat in skeleton H.P.B.’s statement of the ‘‘First 
Fundamental Proposition’? of the ‘‘Secret Doctrine,’’ 
Col. Oleott’s strictures in reality apply to those num- 
bered statements in the ‘‘Secret Doctrine’’ concerning 
which H.P.B. said, in presenting them, ‘‘on their clear 
apprehension depends the understanding of all that fol- 
lows’? in her great work. Colonel Olcott closes this first 
of the two paragraphs of his review by saying: ‘‘Other 
errors might be pointed out; but I need not enlarge, 
since the task is ungrateful, and they will be quickly 
recognized by Indian readers.”’ 

But the real animus of the review is contained in the 
concluding paragraph. It is as follows: 


What I regard as most unfortunate is the 
habit which my old friend, in common with other 
of H.P.B.’s pupils whom I have known, but who 
long ago deserted her, has fallen into, of hinting 
that he could, and he would, disclose ultimate 
mysteries properly veiled from the common peo- 
ple. HKixamples occur in this book, and moreover 
he unhesitatingly declares (Preface) that his 
‘‘bold statements’’ (1.e., the whole presentation 
of the subjects treated) are ‘‘made ... upon 
the knowledge of the writer,’’ and that he ‘‘has 
simply written that which I (sic) have been 
taught and which has been proved to me (sic).’’ 
When we consider the stupendous declarations 
of cosmic and human evolution and order that 
are made upon our friend’s bare authority, it 
strikes one how much more nobly we would stand 
before the thinking and aspiring world, if Mr. 
Judge would make good this statement by ad- 
ducing proofs that he has written that only 
which he ‘‘knows’’ and which ‘‘has been proven’? 
as true. Or, at least, he might have taken a bit 
more pains and avoided downright errors in fact 


MRS. BESANT CHANGES SIDES 459 


and metaphysic. Does he, for example, wish 
us to believe that it has been proven to him that 
the Absolute is a septenary principle, and that 
Charlemagne reincarnated as Napoleon I, and 
Clovis of France as the Emperor Frederic ITI— 
proven? I trow not. This is a very loose 
fashion of asserting instead of proving which 
is spreading and which is very detrimental 
to a cause possessing enough solid merit in 
itself to make its way if discreetly engineered. 
—H.S8. 0. 


Any reader can turn to the Preface and the text of the 
‘‘Ocean’’ and determine for himself whether Col. Olcott’s 
blows are struck fairly or foully, and whether Mr. Judge 
throughout the book, faithfully epitomizes the teachings 
of the ‘‘Secret Doctrine.’’ 

The President-Founder’s criticism of the ‘‘Ocean’’ 
which included its author, Mr. Judge, and H.P.B. the 
Teacher, and her Teachings, in its invidious implications, 
was followed in the October, 1893, Theosophist by an 
Kditorial Note, signed with Col. Olcott’s initials, to an 
article by ‘‘N. D. K.’’ taking mild exceptions to the state- 
ments in the August installment of ‘‘Old Diary Leaves’’ 
on H.P.B.’s ignorance of ‘‘reincarnation”’ at the time of 
the writing of ‘‘Isis Unveiled.’’ Colonel Olcott goes still 
further than in ‘‘Old Diary Leaves.’’ He says that not 
only did H.P.B. not teach reincarnation but that ‘‘she 
really taught the opposite.’’ He goes on to claim credit 
for himself for the ‘‘discovery’’ in 1881 of the ‘‘idea of 
Individuality and Personality.’’ ‘‘ After that’’ (italics 
Col. Olcott’s), it was taught by H.P.B., ... and, gen- 
erally, made current as our belief.’’ 

The Adyar Convention at the close of December, 1893, 
was opened by the President-Founder in person with his 
Annual Address delivered in the presence of Mrs. Bes- 
ant. Beginning with his second sentence he sounds 
public official paeans to Mrs. Besant and himself. We 
quote from the Report in the ‘‘Supplement’’ to The The- 
osophist for January, 1894: 


460 


The reader should bear in mind the specific declara- 
tion of H.P.B. that ‘‘the E.S.T. has no relation what- 
ever with the Theosophical Society as a body,’’ and the 
historical fact that its formation was opposed and its 


THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


The night’s blackness is rolling away, the 
dawn of a happier day is breaking. Thanks— 
as I believe—to the kind help of those whom I 
call my Masters ... our patient and loyal per- 
sistence is about being rewarded by help of the 
most valuable kind, for they have sent me ‘‘ An- 
nabai’’ [Mrs. Besant] to share my burden, re- 
lieve our mental distress, and win the respect 
and sympathy of good people. While she is not 
yet able to quite fill the void left by the departure 
of my co-founder, H.P.B., she will be in time, 
and meanwhile is able to render service that her 
Teacher could not, by her peerless oratory and 
her scientific training. This meeting will be his- 
torical, as marking her first appearance at our 
Annual Conventions :—her first, but not her last, 
for I have some reason to hope that she will de- 
vote a certain part of her future years to Indian 
work. [Great applause. ] 

Mrs. Besant’s and my close association in the 
Indian tour now in progress, and the conse- 
quent mutual insight into our respective charac- 
ters and motives of action, has brought us to a 
perfect understanding which, I believe, nothing 
ean henceforth shake. She and I are now at one 
as regards the proper scope and function of the 
E.8.T. as one of the activities carried on by 
ourmembers. ... Whatever misunderstandings 
have occurred hitherto with respect to the exact 
relationship between the Society, as a body, and 
the Esoteric Section which I chartered in 1888— 
now known as the Hastern School of Theosophy 
—and of which she is the sweet spirit and the 
guiding star, have passed away—lI hope, forever. 


conduct under H.P.B. disapproved of by Col Olcott. 


MRS. BESANT CHANGES SIDES 461 


The President-Founder’s Address goes on to refer to 
the recent Congress of Religions at the Chicago Fair, 
and says: 


In common with every other working member 
in the Society, [ am encouraged by this demon- 
stration to unflagging persistence in the work, 
and very recent assurances from sources I most 
respect [he means the Masters], give me the 
conviction of speedy and complete success. At 
the same time I am warned to expect fresh dis- 
agreeable surprises; but for these, long experi- 
ence has fortified me, and the Society, as hereto- 
fore, will emerge purer and stronger than ever. 
The Society is gradually learning that person- 
alities are but broken reeds to lean upon; and 
that the best of us are but mortals, fallible and 
weak. 


Repeated further laudatory references to Mrs. Besant 
appear throughout the remainder of the Presidential 
Address. Miss Muller and Prof. Chakravarti are spoken 
of with commendation. Considerable time is spent in 
arguing once more the advisability and necessity of 
Adyar as a central focus of the movement. That the 
President-Founder is the real inspiration and authority 
of the Society is affirmed in the following sentences: 


The Chief Executive has already become in 
great part, and must ultimately be entirely the 
mere official pivot of the wheel, the central unit 
of its life, the representative of its federative 
character, the umpire in all intersectional dis- 
putes, the wielder of the Council’s authority. 


Then the President goes on to say, without a break: 


I abhor the very semblance of autocratic in- 
terference, but I equally detest that spirit of 
nullification which drives people to try to sub- 
vert constitutions under which they have pros- 
pered and which has proved in practice well 


462 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


fitted to promote the general well being. This 
feeling has made me resent at times what seemed 
attempts to make the Society responsible for 
special authorities, ideas and dogmas which, 
however good in themselves, were foreign to the 
views of some of our members, and hence an in- 
vasion of their personal rights of conscience un- 
der our constitution. As the official guardian of 
that instrument, my duty requires this of me, 
and I hope never to fail in it. 


Finally, at the close of his Address, the President- 
Founder returns once more to the epiphany of Mrs. 
Besant and says: 


With the formation of my present close ac- 
quaintance with Mrs. Besant, my course has be- 
come very clearly marked out in my mind. Un- 
less something unexpected and of a very revolu- 
tionary character should happen, I mean to aban- 
don the last lingering thought of retirement and 
stop at my post until removed by the hand of 
death. ‘‘Annabai’’ will in time become to me 
what H.P.B. was, and I shall try to prove as 
staunch and loyal a colleague to her as I think 
you will concede I have been to my lamented co- 
Founder of this Society. In her bright integ- 
rity, her passionate love of truth, her grand 
trained intellect and her unquestioning altruism, 
I feel a strength and support which acts upon me 
as the elbow-touch of the comrade to the soldier 
in battle. Disciples of the same Master, de- 
voted to the same cause, and now friends who 
know and trust each other, we may, I hope and 
pray, henceforth resemble in this movement the 
Aryan god, who is dual when looked at from two 
aspects, but when properly understood is but 
one and indivisible. [Great applause. ] 


When these remarks of Col. Oleott’s are weighed in 
the light of preceding events and measured in their rela- 


MRS. BESANT CHANGES SIDES 463 


tion to the framework of circumstances by which they 
were surrounded, there can be no question of their gravity 
or that they were deliberately calculated. They were 
spoken at the most important convocation yet held in 
India after the one at the end of 1884. There the 
planned purpose was negative—to leave the most im- 
portant personage connected with the Society unsup- 
ported and undefended against an assault leveled, not 
against her as an individual, but as the Head and fore- 
front of the Theosophical Movement. It was the first 
great test of the professed devotion to Brotherhood— 
the First Object of the Society. It ended in desertion, 
rather than in active disloyalty. Injurious as its effects 
were, it would have been ruinous had H.P.B. had to de- 
pend on the Hindus and Col. Olcott; as it was, its reac- 
tionary effects were felt chiefly in India, so far as the 
Society was concerned. 

But in 1893, the disloyalty was positive; it was a 
planned assault, by the chief officer of the Society, aided 
and abetted by its leading members. It was that very 
plot aganst the Theosophical Society, of which Mr. 
Judge had written months before—against brotherhood 
as that word had been used wm the declaration of the 
First and Second Sections m 1881, as it had been ex- 
emplified by Masters and H.P.B., as it had been taught 
in Theosophy, and in the Rules, the Preliminary Memo- 
randa and the Instructions of the Esoteric School. 

Colonel Olcott intended his statements to be received 
as his authoritative and official proclamation to all who 
might look to him for direction. It is therefore well 
worth while for the student to examine them closely 
in relation to the tissues of the web spun to the occasion 
of his designed pattern. Stripped of redundancies and 
tergiversations the extracts given come to this: the 
President-Founder of the Society, speaking as its Offi- 
cial Head, declares: 


(1) That the Masters have rewarded his ‘‘pa- 
tient and loyal persistence’’ by sending him 
Mrs. Besant ‘‘to fill the void left by the de- 


464 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


parture of H.P.B.,’’ and who is ‘‘able to render 
service thet her Teacher could not’’; 

(2) That he has come ‘‘to a perfect under- 
standing with her that nothing can henceforth 
shake,’’ so that he and Mrs. Besant ‘‘are now 
at one as regards the proper scope and function 
of the E.S.T.,’’ of which ‘‘she is the sweet spirit 
and the guiding star’’; 

(3) That he himself has ‘‘already become in 
great part, and must ultimately be entirely”’ 
the ‘‘central unit’’ in the ‘‘life’’ of the Society, 
the ‘‘representative,’?’ the ‘‘umpire,’’ the 
‘‘wielder of the Council’s authority’’; 

(4) And, finally, that ‘‘very recent assur- 
ances’’ from the Masters warn him ‘‘to expect 
fresh disagreeable surprises,’’ from which, how- 
ever, he is assured that the Society ‘‘will emerge 
purer and stronger than ever.’’ 


These statements of his are put forth officially, al- 
though he ‘‘abhors the very semblance of autocratic in- 
terference’’ and ‘‘resents attempts to make the Society 
responsible for special authorities, ideas and dogmas’’ 
which ‘‘are foreign to the views of some of our mem- 
bers, and hence an invasion of their personal rights of 
conscience under our constitution,’’ and although ‘‘per- 
sonalities are but broken reeds to lean upon, and the 
best of us are but mortals fallible and weak.’’ 

Indicative as these contrasted declarations are of that 
‘‘loss of moral balance unconsciously to himself’’—as 
H.P.B. had written must be the fate of those who 
‘‘wander from the discipline’’—indicative as they are 
when weighed only in the light of what preceded and 
accompanied the Presidential Address, they become ever 
more profoundly significant when viewed in unbroken 
continuity with the succeeding events. 

The facts, unknown then, are knowable now. Through 
Messrs. A. P. Sinnett and Bertram Keightley first, Chak- 
ravarti next and Col. Olcott finally, Mrs. Besant was 
infected with doubts and suspicions of H.P.B., then of 


MRS. BESANT CHANGES SIDES 465 


Mr. Judge, as Col. Olcott had himself succumbed to 
the same influences in 1881. The potion, in increasing 
doses, mixed with subtle flatteries, by degrees led Mrs. 
Besant to the point where, ‘‘in the name of the Masters’’ 
she was induced to break her ‘‘most solemn and sacred 
word of honor’’ and ‘‘for the honor of the Society”’ to 
violate her pledges in the E.S. 

At Adyar Mrs. Besant counseled with Mr. Walter R. 
Old, who, smarting under his ‘‘wrongs,’’ told his psy- 
chic tale of inference and hearsay. At Adyar Mrs. Be- 
sant attended a dark cabinet at which were present be- 
sides herself, Mr. Old, Col. Olcott, Messrs. Edge and 
Sturdy, and Countess Wachtmeister. Here their mutual 
doubts were well confirmed, each by the others, their 
mutual burdens of circumstantial evidence adjusted to 
fit their several interpretations. William Q. Judge was 
weighed in the balance, tried, convicted, condemned of 
Theosophical infamies, and plans made to carry the sen- 
tence into execution. From November, 1893, until March, 
1894, the conspirators day by day wrote and spoke of 
brotherhood, and night after night plotted fruitfully its 
negation. 

Karly in January Mrs. Besant, Col. Olcott, and their 
party resumed the tour of India temporarily suspended 
during the Convention. Allahabad—home of Prof. — 
Chakravarti—was reached early in February. There, 
as was most fit and proper, the final step was taken, and 
in accordance with the plan agreed upon, Mrs. Besant 
handed to Col. Olcott the following: 


ALLAHABAD, Feb. 6th, 1894. 
To the President-Founder of the Theosophical 
Society. 
Dear Sir and Brother,— 

Some little time ago an appeal was made to 
me by members of the T.S. belonging to differ- 
ent Branches, to set their minds at rest as to the 
accusations made against the Vice-President of 
the Society, Bro. W. Q. Judge, with reference 
to certain letters and sentences in the alleged 


466 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


writings of the Mahatmas. As it is to the detri- 
ment of the whole Society that such accusations 
—believed to be true by reputable members of 
the Society—should be circulated against a 
prominent official without rebuttal and without 
investigation, I ask you, as the President of the - 
Society, to direct that the charges made shall 
be formulated and laid before a Committee, as 
provided by Art. VI, Sees. 2, 3 and 4. 
Fraternally yours, 
Anniz Bssant. 


On the next day Colonel Olcott wrote the following 
official communication to Mr. Judge: 


THEOSOPHICAL SOCIETY, 
PRESIDENT’S OFFICE 
Aacra, Feb. 7th, 1894. 
To William Q. Judge, Vice-President T.S. 
Dear Sir and Brother,— 

I enclose herewith a certified copy of Annie 
Besant’s formal letter to me, dated Allahabad, 
Feb. 6th inst. In it she demands an official en- 
quiry, by means of a Committee, into the matter 
of your alleged misuse of the Mahatmas’ names 
and handwriting. 

By virtue of the discretionary power given me 
in Art. VI of the Revised Rules, I place before 
you the following options: 

(1) To retire from all offices held by you in 
the Theosophical Society and leave me to make 
a merely general public explanation, or— 

(2) To have a Judicial Committee convened, 
as provided for in Art. VI, Sec. 3, of the Re- 
vised Rules, and make public the whole of the 
proceedings in detail. 

In either alternative, you will observe, a pub- 
lic explanation is found necessary: in the one 
case to be limited as far as possible and made 
general; in the other to be full and covering all 
the details. 


MRS. BESANT CHANGES SIDES 


I suggest that if you decide for a Committee 
you fix London as the place of meeting, as by 
far the most central and convenient to all con- 
cerned. But whether you choose New York, 
London, or elsewhere, I shall in all probability 
be represented by proxy, unless something now 
unforeseen should arise to make it imperative 
that I shall personally attend. 

As it will be much better that I should know 
your decision before Annie Besant leaves India 
(March 20th), I would ask you to kindly cable 
me the word ‘‘first’’ if you choose to resign; or 
‘“second’’ if you demand the Committee. 

Fraternally yours, 
H. 8. Oucort, 
President Theosophical Society. 


467 


CHAPTER XXVIII 
THE AMERICAN SECTION SUPPORTS JUDGE 


Tue reader should remember—what was unknown to 
the membership at the time and, in most cases, unknown 
to Theosophical students since—that the plot against 
Judge had been in process for nearly two years, had been 
eradually perfected in all its details, and merely came 
openly to a head with the letters of Mrs. Besant and 
Col. Olcott last mentioned. Mr. Judge was simply the 
target in 1894-5 as H.P.B. and Mr. Judge had been the 
target in 1889-90, and as H.P.B. alone had been the 
target in 1884-5. The real plot was against what they 
represented. H.P.B. and Mr. Judge strove to nourish 
and strengthen the Theosophical Society—the Third 
Section—as an instrument for the purposes of the First 
and Second Sections, and their Three Objects. 

Colonel Olcott’s Inaugural Address on November 17, 
1875, showed clearly how he viewed the Objects of the 
Society—a view that any Spiritualist, any devotee of 
psychic research, any materialistic scientist, Ishmael or 
pariah of orthodoxy or sectarianism, any curiosity 
seeker, might take, and that multitudes did take. From 
that view Col. Olcott never wholly departed, whether 
as President-Founder, or as Probationer of the Second 
Section. He held in abeyance, he suppressed, he yielded 
his views from time to time, as occasion might seem to 
warrant, or necessity compel, but that was all. The 
Third Object—as he understood and applied it—was 
first with him and with by far the great majority, whether 
officers, leaders, writers, or the mere polloi of Fellows 
and Ksotericists. In other words, nine-tenths of those 
who joined the Society or the E.S.T. viewed the Objects 
in inverse order and proportion. 

H.P.B. knew this. Mr. Judge knew this. So did 

468 


AMERICAN SECTION SUPPORTS JUDGE 469 


Damodar. What were they to do? They had to take 
the mind of the race as they found it, and do what they 
could in the mental environment of the race. Hence 
the two volumes of ‘‘Isis,’’? devoted the one to ‘‘Science,”’ 
z.e., the Third Object; the other to ‘‘Theology,’’ 2.e., the 
Second Object—as Masters view those great subjects and 
Objects. The opposing views, whether of principles or 
applications, never could and never can be reconciled; 
one or the other has in the end to prevail, whether in 
the individual or in any body of individuals such as the 
Theosophical Society. Hence the Esoteric Section when 
the Society at large threatened to break away and become 
an instrument, however great, of the inverted view of 
its purposes. Hence the steady stream of deserters from 
the Society; hence, too, the constant stream of attacks, 
never directly against Theosophy, the Society, or its Ob- 
jects, but against H.P.B.; against her and Mr. Judge; 
finally, as we have seen, against Mr. Judge alone. 

Against these guerilla tactics H.P.B. consistently em- 
ployed one and the same ‘‘grand strategy’’: in reply to 
all shafts leveled, without or within the Society, against 
her teachings, her messages, her phenomena, and her- 
self as their sponsor, she devoted herself to the promo- 
tion of solidarity and a Theosophical education; to 
strenuous efforts to educate the membership to some 
apprehension of Theosophical principles, and some ap- 
plication of those principles to the ever varying course 
of events. She constantly preached and practised Unity, 
Study, and Work. 

We have been at pains to give extracts and abundant 
references, so that the inquiring student might be able 
to verify for himself: 

(1) The opposing ideas embodied in H.P.B. on the 
one side and Col. Olcott on the other, and the gradual 
alignment of leaders and followers into opposing armies 
fighting, consciously and unconsciously, for the su- 
premacy in this ‘‘war of ideas.’’ 

(2) The clear recognition and teaching by H.P.B. 
of the gigantic nature of the impending struggle, 
whether between the ‘‘Higher and lower self’’ of the in- 


470 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


dividual combatant, or between the opposing forces in 
this modern Mahabharata; and her consequent avoid- 
ance to the last degree of forcing the issue with anyone, 
friend or foe, faithful or unfaithful. 

(3) Her unvarying practice, when the issue was about 
to be forced upon her, of writing some article or series 
of articles which presented a advance the real points 
involved, the real issues at stake, the real principles to 
be applied. Only when the battle was joined, and at its 
crucial moment did she, like Krishna, take her Arjunas 
into conference in the midst of the flying arrows and 
name the generals of the opposing army; it was her 
method of stripping bare both issues and advocates. 

We have been at pains to do the same thing in the 
case of Mr. Judge, and for the same reasons. We have 
shown him, while the plot was brewing in secrecy and 
darkness, confining himself to the promotion of harmony 
and good-will, regardless of the dissensions and differ- 
ences of opinions amongst officers, leaders, and members. 
We have shown him giving clear expression of his own 
views as an individual on the varying questions raised. 
We have shown him from time to time publishing articles 
on principles, policies, and applications in advance of 
events, but which, when related to those events, show 
unmistakably his prescience on the plane of Causes. One 
more example of his identity with the path pursued by 
H.P.B. is germane to the events of the first half of 1894. 

The leading articles in The Path for the months of 
October, November, and December, 1893, and January, 
1894, were devoted to the subject of the ‘‘Occult Arts,’’ 
and in subtitles treatment was successively accorded to 
‘‘Precipitation,’’ to ‘‘ Disintegration and Reintegration,’’ 
and to ‘‘Some Propositions by H. P. Blavatsky.’’ The 
latter contained, with some comments, a reprint of the 
first ten of the numbered propositions in chapter twelve 
of Volume 2, ‘‘Isis Unveiled.’’ The other articles dis- 
cussed the Occult rationale of phenomenal ‘‘messages,’’ 
and the phenomena of ‘‘appearance and disappearance of 
objects.”’ 

These teachings of Occultism in their philosophical, 


AMERICAN SECTION SUPPORTS JUDGE 471 


logical, moral, and scientific bearings, had been before 
the students for seventeen years. Why should Mr. Judge 
re-discuss at all, let alone at that particular time, what 
was a mere repetition of what should long since have 
been common knowledge on the part of every The- 
osophist? What other answer is there, in view of all 
that preceded and all that followed, than that he knew 
what was coming; knew that it would find the students as 
unready as ever intelligently to discern between divided 
counsels, warring claims, rival pretensions, contradictory 
‘‘messages from the Masters of H.P.B.’’? He knew that 
the students had really learned little or nothing, either 
from fact or philosophy, and hence were ripe to be swept 
away, not by knowledge or evidence, but by claims and the 
prestige of the accusers. He knew that the hour was 
come for a new wager of the same old gage. He there- 
fore could but repeat the teachings and the admonitions 
of Occultism to the Arjunas about to enter on the ‘‘field 
of battle,’’ and await the issue. 

Equally, the extracts and references abundantly given 
will serve to show, on the opposing side, both the policies 
pursued and the ideas relied upon. Throughout the long 
interval of preparations, of the ‘‘marshaling and the 
survey of armies’’ up to the last moment, the friendli- 
est intercourse was kept up with Mr. Judge. All direct 
public references to him, as to H.P.B., were clothed by 
the chief conspirators in terms of apparent respect and 
confidence. Where allusions were made that were ques- 
tionable they were always Janus-like, and for these two- 
faced utterances men like Mr. Sturdy and Mr. Old were 
used as tools. Where direct issues were broached it 
was always on some subject on which the membership 
had and could have no actual knowledge—as the discus- 
sion on ‘‘Mars and Mercury”’ and the ‘‘Sevenfold sys- 
tem’’—or it was on some topic clearly meritorious in 
itself, as those on the neutrality of the Society, on dog- 
matism, on authority, on hero-worship, on the degree of 
authenticity to be attached to the writmgs of H.P.B.; 
on her status as the Agent of the Masters and so on. 
But under cover of all these apparently innocent and 


472 THY THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


worthy objects of discussion, there went on a distinctly 
cumulative campaign the effect of which was to leave 
an adverse impression of H.P.B. as Messenger, as 
Teacher, as Example, and to force upon Mr. Judge either 
to remain silent or to defend the bona fides, the knowl- 
edge, the dependability of H.P.B. 

Following her path in all things, Mr. Judge crossed 
no bridges till he came to them. Not till the protagonists 
came into the open and made their hostile attack in force 
could he, any more than she, meet the issue face to face, 
and he well knew what form that attack would take. 

At that time from four to six weeks were required for 
the transit of the mails from interior India to New York 
City. In consequence, the President-Founder’s Official 
letter of February 7/1 did not reach Mr. Judge until 
March 10, 1894. He at once took two steps, one privately 
in the E.S.T., as one of its Heads; the other publicly, 
as an individual member of the Theosophical Society. 
Both these actions are, in our view, of profound teaching 
value to every real student, alike in their manner and 
their matter, for what was said and for what was left 
unsaid. 

The circular to the E.S.T. was headed, ‘‘ Recall of the 
Instructions.’’ Its opening paragraph reads: 


The members in the U. S. should know the 
facts about the divulgement of the Instructions 
[The various papers issued in the School by 
H.P.B. during her lifetime are what is meant 
by the ‘‘Instructions’’]. Some time ago a 
former member in India retired and refused to 
give up his papers. Later it became evident that 
they were given out to persons not members. 
This was clearly shown by the fact that a per- 
son in California published the contents of the 
notice sent from London on the suspension of 
Messrs. Old and Edge coupled with the state- 
ment that the same person had the other papers. 
It was also evident that some spy was left some- 

*See preceding chapter. 


AMERICAN SECTION SUPPORTS JUDGE 473 


where in the E..S. who continued to help the re- 
tired member. All of these things were pub- 
lished from time to time in papers in India and 
England and it became apparent that it was 
absolutely necessary to call in the Instructions 
to the end that means might be devised for 
greater security for all members. This recall 
was no reflection on members who are faithful. 
Hence the notice. 


The remainder of the circular is devoted to admoni- 
tions to charity towards any who might violate his 
pledges; to injunctions to self-watchfulness, mutual 
loyalty, and study. And for something to study in lieu 
of the recalled Instructions the last chapter in the sec- 
ond volume of ‘‘Isis Unveiled’’ is referred to as ‘‘some- 
thing which if rightly understood contains the secrets 
of Occultism.’’ Neither Col. Olcott, Mrs. Besant, nor 
any of the others involved were referred to. 

His public step is clearly shown by the heading and 
opening paragraph which follow: 


From 
Wim Q. Jupes, 
144 Madison Ave., 
New York. 
March 15th, 1894. 


CHARGES aGAINST WinuiaM Q. JUDGE. 
To all Members of the Theosophical Society: 


It is disagreeable to talk much of oneself, but 
sometimes it is necessary, and in this case it has 
been made a necessity by the action of others, 
as also by the existence of many vague and sup- 
pressed rumors which have been flying about in 
quarters not public but sufficiently alive to com- 
pel action on my part. Hence I now make known 
in advance that which has been spoken obscurely 
for some time, and which is now before me of- 
ficially from the President, Col. H. S. Olcott, to 


\ 


47 4 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


the end that all members of the Society and 
friends of my own in all parts of the world 
shall be in possession of facts so that surprise 
and perhaps confusion may be prevented. 


Mr. Judge then goes on to say that ‘‘the assertion is 
made in India that I have been guilty of ‘misuse of the 
names and handwriting of the Mahatmas,’’’ and that 
this has been ‘‘ officially communicated to the President.’’ 
He does not mention Mrs. Besant’s name at all in con- 
nection with the proceedings taken by the President- 
Founder, but merely that ‘‘an investigation is demanded 
through an official inquiry,’’ and therefore Col. Olcott . 
‘‘conceiving himself required and authorized to take ac- 
tion’’ has written the official letter which we have given 
in the preceding chapter. He gives the ‘‘options’’ placed 
before him in the President-Founder’s letter and says: 


On March 10th I cabled him as follows: 
Charges absolutely false. You can take what 
proceedings you see fit; going to London in 
July. 


Mr. Judge next makes clear the reason for this cable- 
gram and the form of his reply. He says: 


The charge is made against me as Vice-Presi- 
dent: I have replied as an individual and shall so 
continue; inasmuch as in my capacity of Vice- 
President my duties are nominal. . . . The only 
charges that could be made against the Vice- 
President would be those of failing to perform 
his duties, or misusing the office when there were 
any duties attached to it. On the face of this 
very vague charge, then, it is evident that there 
is nothing in it relating to the official Vice- 
President. 


The charge as related to official malfeasance being thus 
disposed of for the time being, Mr. Judge next considers 
it as related to himself as one of the leading members of 
the Society: 


AMERICAN SECTION SUPPORTS JUDGE 475 


Inasmuch as I was the first presiding officer 
of the Theosophical Society at its preliminary 
meeting in September, 1875, and its first Secre- 
tary at such meeting; that I was not only H. P. 
Blavatsky’s intimate friend and direct pupil but 
that I have been conspicuous as an upholder of 
Theosophical doctrines, as also an upholder, with 
many other friends in every part of the globe, 
of H. P. Blavatsky’s good name, high motive, 
and great powers against the ridicule of the 
world and much opposition from certain mem- 
bers of the Society she founded; that I have 
been elected to succeed Col. Olcott as President 
of the Society and have been officially declared 
his successor by him; it is important and im- 
perative that I should make this matter public, 
and I now do so, and state my unqualified, ex- 
plicit, exhaustive denial of the said charge, as- 
serting most unreservedly that it has no founda- 
tion. 


The reasons and the necessities compelling this public 
facing of the charges and their public unequivocal denial, 
thus given, Mr. Judge’s circular then considers the con- 
stitutional procedure and gives it in detail. He con- 
cludes this part of his circular by saying: ‘‘ Perhaps when 
the Committee is convened I shall, for the first time, have 
particulars as to persons, dates, and the like of the 
charges made, none of which up to this time I have had 
except in the form of rumor.’’ He then considers the 
possible effects of these charges on others than himself: 


More acutely than any personal grievance, do 
I feel the probability of a deplorable influence 
being at first exercised on the Theosophical 
movement by the making of these charges. I do 
not think it will have a lasting effect for injury. 
The rumors to which I have referred have been 
used by the enemies of the Society to show, if 
possible, dissension among us and to found a 
charge of rottenness; they have printed the mat- 


\ 


476 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


ter in a scandalous form both in Kurope and 
America, pretending that in my official and 
private capacities I am in the habit of sending 
alleged ‘‘Mahatma messages,’’ and then added 
ribald jokes of their own. This I have not hith- 
erto noticed, because all members know that the 
correspondence and work of the Society are open 
to all and entirely devoid of the elements al- 
leged to exist by these opponents; we are all 
perfectly aware that our strength lies in our 
devotion and constant work. The present situa- 
tion will therefore result in clearing the air and 
consolidating our ranks in all directions. 


Next, Mr. Judge refers to the second of the two ‘‘op- 
tions’’ placed before him by the President-Founder, and 
says that he refused to cable the word ‘‘second,’’ as 
requested by Col. Olcott’s letter, for the reason that thus 
to do would be to mean ‘‘I demand a Committee.’’ He 
continues: 


The reason is not that an investigation is 
avoided. Such an investigation will not be 
avoided. But on constitutional and executive 
principle I shall object from beginning to end to 
any committee of the Theosophical Society con- 
sidering any charge against any person which 
involves an inquiry and decision as to the ex- 
istence, names, powers, functions, or methods of 
the ‘‘Mahatmas or Masters.’’ I shall do this 
for the protection of the Theosophical Society 
now and hereafter, regardless of the result to 
myself. The Society has no dogma as to the 
existence of such Masters; but the deliberations 
of an official committee of the Society on such a 
question, and that is the first inquiry and de- 
cision necessarily beginning such a deliberation, 
would mean that the Theosophical Society after 
over nineteen years of unsectarian work is de- 
termined to settle this dogma and affix it to the 


AMERICAN SECTION SUPPORTS JUDGE 


Constitution of the Society. To this I will never 
consent, but shall object and shall charge the 
Committee itself with a violation of the Consti- 
tution if it decides the question of the existence 
of ‘‘Masters’’ or Mahatmas; if it should affirm 
the ‘‘Masters’’ existence it will violate the law; 
if it should deny Their existence a like viola- 
tion will result; both decisions would affirm a 
dogma, and the negative decision would in ad- 
dition violate that provision of our law, in Art. 
XIII, Revised Rules, which makes it an offense 
to ‘‘wilfully offend the religious feelings of any 
Fellow’’ of the Society, inasmuch as the belief 
so negatived is religiously held by many hun- 
dreds of the Fellows of the Society. I intend to 
try once for all to definitely have settled this 
important question, and to procure an official 
decision affirming now and forever the freedom 
of our Society. 

Hence the President’s alternatives... are 
mistakes, and are the initial steps to the promul- 
gation of the dogma of belief in the ‘‘Masters.”’ 
The first alternative is furthermore a judgment 
in advance, ridiculous in itself yet serious as 
emanating from our highest official. It pre- 
cludes him from sitting on the Committee, and 
that point also I shall raise before the Com- 
mittee. The whole proposal he makes brings 
up serious and complicated questions of Occult- 
ism touching upon the matter of the existence, 
powers, functions, and methods of those 
‘“Masters’’ in whom many Theosophists believe 
but as to whom the Theosophical Society is per- 
fectly agnostic and neutral as an organized body. 
For that reason no one in Official position ever 
thought of making a public matter of the many 
assertions made here and there by members of 
the Society, that they individually communicated 
with beings whom they called ‘‘Masters,’’ 
‘‘Mahatmas,’’ nor of the assertions publicly 


ATT 


A78 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


made by prominent members that certain phil- 
osophical statements recently published in our 
literature were directly from the very ‘‘Mas- 
ters’’ referred to by Col. Olcott, although those 
statements contradicted others made by H. P. 
Blavatsky on the declared authority of the same 
‘“Masters.’’ 

On all these grounds, then, I shall object to 
a Theosophical Society Committee, while of 
course there will never be any objection from 
me to a proper investigation by a body of per- 
sons who know enough of Occultism as well as 
of Theosophy to understandingly inquire into 
these matters. 


From the matter already before him in the course of 
this History, the reader can easily determine for him- 
self the accuracy as to statements of fact, the consistency 
of adherence to the proclaimed Constitution and Rules 
of the Society, the sincere devotion throughout to the 
Objects of the Society, and the principles of Occultism 
shown by Mr. Judge; the candor and unevasiveness of 
his reply to the letter and ‘‘options’’ of the President- 
Founder. 

The closing paragraphs of Mr. Judge’s circular meet 
the remainder of the queries bound to arise from the 
President-Founder’s letter and the reply as quoted in 
the foregoing extracts. On these natural queries thus 
forced to the front against his will, Mr. Judge speaks as 
directly, as simply and impersonally as H.P.B. herself 
had done when silence was no longer possible. He says: 


But some of you may wonder if all this leaves 
in doubt the question whether I believe in the 
‘‘Masters.’’ I believe the Masters exist, that 
They actually help the T.S. Cause, that They 
energise and make fruitful the work of all 
sincere members; all this I can say to myself 
that I know, but to prove objectively to another 
that such beings exist is impossible now so far 


AMERICAN SECTION SUPPORTS JUDGE 479 


as my intelligence can perceive. ‘‘Letters from 
Mahatmas’’ prove nothing at all except to the 
recipient, and then only when in his inner nature 
is the standard of proof and the power of judg- 
ment. Precipitation does not prove Mahatmas, 
for the reason that mere mediums and non- 
mahatmas can make precipitations. This I have 
always asserted. By one’s soul alone can this 
matter be judged, and only by his work and acts 
can one judge at first as to whether any other 
person is an agent of the Masters; by following 
the course prescribed in all ages the inner 
faculties may be awakened so as to furnish the 
true confirmatory evidence. I have not lost any 
of my belief in these beings, but more than ever 
believe in Their existence and in Their help 
and care to and over our Society’s work. 

Finally I may say that my personal belief in 
Mahatmas is based on even stronger evidence 
than Theosophical arguments or the experience 
of others. As is known to some Theosophists, I 
have not been entirely without help and guid- 
ance from these exalted friends of the T.S. The 
form which the whole matter has taken now com- 
pels me to say what I have never before said 
publicly, namely, that not only have I received 
direct communications from Masters during and 
since the life of H. P. Blavatsky, but that I have 
on certain occasions repeated such to certain 
persons for their own guidance, and also that I 
have guided some of my own work under sug- 
gestions from the same sources, though with- 
out mentioning the fact—Wuu1am Q. JupGE. 


Copies of this circular of Mr. Judge’s were at once 
mailed to as many members of the Society as possible. 
The mask of concealment being thus stripped away and 
the whole Society made conversant with what had hith- 
erto been whispered from one to another in the form of 
innuendo, the first effect was distinctly disastrous to the 


480 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


plans of the chief conspirators in India. Copies reached 
London and were seen by Mr. Geo. R. S. Mead, then Edi- 
tor of Lucifer under Mrs. Besant, and General Secretary 
of the European Section. Mr. Bertram Keightley, still 
General Secretary of the Indian Section, was at the time 
in London and he also read Mr. Judge’s circular. Both 
were honorable and well-meaning men and whatever 
countenance they had hitherto lent to the hints and sus- 
picions against Mr. Judge, their sense of fair play and 
common decency was outraged by the arrogant un- 
brotherliness and offhand assumption of Mrs. Besant and 
the President-Founder. Even if Mr. Judge was guilty, 
he was entitled to the przliminary assumption of his in- 
nocence until that guilt was conclusively established, and 
this by the commonest application of the principles of 
ordinary human practice. Moreover by what process of 
reasoning could Mrs. Besant and Col. Olcott take upon 
themselves the duty of holding star-chamber proceedings 
to condemn any member or tender him ‘‘options’’ to ‘‘re- 
sign’’ or be ‘‘tried’’ by a Committee, when the very pro- 
ceedings already so unwarrantably taken were in fact a 
violation of the Rules of the Society, no less than those of 
Occultism? Perhaps the plain, manly, straightforward 
statements in Mr. Judge’s circular gave them for the 
moment some realizing sense of the enormous inequity 
committed. At all events they saw at once that it was 
Mrs. Besant and the President-Founder who had grossly 
violated the principles all professed as well as the plain 
provisions of the Constitution of the Society. Under the 
date of March 27, 1894, therefore, they issued over their 
joint official signatures as the General Secretaries of the 
two sections, the EHuropean and the Indian, a circular 
entitled: ‘‘For the information of the Members of the 
Kuropean and Indian Sections of the Theosophical 
Society.’’ 

This circular begins by reciting that Messrs. Mead 
and Keightley had seen an unofficial copy of the letter 
of Mrs. Besant of February 6 and of Col. Olecott’s of 
February 7, as given, and repeats the text of the two 
letters. The circular of Messrs. Mead and Keightley is 


AMERICAN SECTION SUPPORTS JUDGE 481 


addressed to Col. Olcott as President-Founder of the 
T.S., and proceeds to insist that any further proceed- 
ings taken must be ‘‘strictly constitutional and impar- 
tial,’? and continues :— 


It is therefore our plain duty as the General 
Secretaries of two out of the three Sections of 
the T.S. and members of its General Council, 
to call your attention officially to the following 
points with a view to safeguarding (1) the Con- 
stitution, (2) the non-sectarian character, and 
(3) the impartiality of the Theosophical Society. 

First: By Art. VI, Sections 2 and 3, of the 
‘““Constitution and Rules of the ‘'Fheosophical 
Society’’ as officially ratified and promulgated 
by yourself on Dec. 31st, 1893, it is enacted that, 
in the event of charges being preferred against 
the President, or Vice-President; (a) the said 
charges shall be in writing, and (b) copies 
thereof shall ‘‘at once’’ be forwarded to the ac- 
cused and ‘‘to each member of the General 
Council.’’ 

We now desire to point out that you have not 
followed the procedure laid down in either of 
these respects, for: 

1. Your official letter to Mr. W. Q. Judge 
above referred to, contains no copy in writing 
of any charges, does not give the names of the 
persons who bring such, and even contains no 
specific statement of what are the exact charges 
brought. 

2. No official copy either of ‘‘charges in 
writing’’ or even of your above-mentioned let- 
ter to Mr. Judge has reached either of us; al- 
though sufficient time has elapsed since your let- 
ter reached Mr. Judge in America for an un- 
official copy thereof to be received in England. 

Therefore, as members of the General Coun- 
cil of the T.S. we emphatically protest against 
this departure from the rules of procedure by 


482 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


yourself of your official duty as President to- 
ward your colleagues on the General Council of 
the Society. 


In endeavoring to digest the conflicting mass of matter 
covering the ‘‘ Judge case’’ and get at the actual facts, 
the inquirer will need to relate closely the multitude of 
statements made by the various principals in the tragedy. 
One instance, as example and guide, may be noted in 
the above. The reading of the successive Reports of the 
Adyar parliaments and quotations already given from 
‘‘Old Diary Leaves,’’ will conclusively establish that the 
‘‘Constitution and Rules’’ were tinkered with each year 
by the President-Founder, acting through his pliant 
‘‘General Council’’ in the first instance and then ‘‘of- 
ficially ratified and promulgated’’ by himself. It will 
be noted that the ‘‘Constitution and Rules’’ were ‘‘re- 
vised’’ and ‘‘ratified’’ and ‘‘promulgated’’ anew at the 
Adyar Convention at the end of 1893. Now, let the reader 
compare Col. Olcott’s Presidential Address at that Con- 
vention, the laudations of Mrs. Besant, the ‘‘recent as- 
surances of fresh disagreeable surprises,’’ the secret con- 
clave of Col. Olcott, Mrs. Besant, Messrs. Old and Sturdy 
and Countess Wachtmeister during the Convention, Mrs. 
Besant’s letter to Col. Olcott demanding a Committee to 
‘‘enquire’’ into the ‘‘charges’’ made by ‘‘reputable mem- 
bers’’ against Mr. Judge, and Col. Oleott’s letter with 
its ‘‘options’’ to Mr. Judge to resign under fire or be 
‘‘investigated’’ by a Committee framed by Col. Olcott 
under ‘‘revised’’ rules planned in advance—and the 
whole scheme is exposed. 

The circular of Messrs. Mead and Keightley goes on: 


Second: We recognize that, acting under the 
general discretionary power conferred upon the 
President by Art. VI, Sec. 1, it was competent 
for you as President to take action in the matter. 
But we feel strongly that, in order to protect 
and maintain that very Constitution whose 
guardian you are, it was your duty in your of- 
ficial letter to Mr. Judge to have insisted upon 


AMERICAN SECTION SUPPORTS JUDGE 


and resolutely maintained the following points: 

1. That the free platform of the Society pre- 
cludes any official declaration by the T.S. or any 
Committee representing it, upon the question 
whether ‘‘Mahatmas’’ do or do not exist (see 
Art. XITI, Sees. 2 and 3 (‘‘Offenses’’) ; 

2. That, therefore, no enquiry into the con- 
duct of any officer of the Society in his official 
capacity, which would involve as its basis a 
declaration of Yea or Nay upon the above ques- 
tion, can be carried out by any official committee 
of the T.S.; 

3. That, accordingly, Sections 2, 3 and 4 of 
Art. VI are not applicable to the charges indi- 
cated by your letter to Mr. Judge; 

Third: We desire further to point out that 
in officially giving Mr. Judge the alternatives of 
resigning all his offices in the T.S. or submitting 
to the enquiry proposed, you have again de- 
parted from the procedure laid down by the Con- 
stitution. 

Moreover by so doing you place yourself of- 
ficially in the position of having prejudged the 
case and virtually announce before any enquiry 
has taken place or even any specific charges 
have been formulated, that you believe Mr. 
Judge guilty. 

It appears to us that such an attitude is in- 
consistent with that strict impartiality and jus- 
tice which ought to characterize at least the 
official actions of the President of the T.S., and 
that it is calculated to bring discredit upon the 
Society by laying its chief executive officer open 
to the charge of condemning a colleague without 
even giving him a hearing. 

In conclusion we hereby place on record our 
most emphatic protest against the above-cited 
departures from constitutional procedure; and 
we officially request a formal reply and declara- 
tion thereupon from yourself as President- 


483 


484 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


Founder of the T.S. and official guardian of its 
free Constitution. 

This we call for as General Secretaries for 
Hurope and India respectively, and as mem- 
bers of that General Council of the Theosophi- 
cal Society from which, as recited in Art. VI, 
See. 1, you ‘‘derive your authority’’ as Presi- 
dent of the T.S., and to which, as therein pro- 
vided, you ‘‘are responsible for its exercise.’’ 

Finally we beg to inform you that we shall 
forthwith notify our respective Sections of the 
present correspondence, and shall also communi- 
eate to them your reply when received, as the 
members are already unofficially informed of the 
matter. 

We are, dear Sir and Brother, 

Fraternally yours, 
Bertram KIGHTLEY, 
Gen. Sec. Indian Sec. T. S. 
G. R. S. Mnap, 
Gen. See. European Sec. T. S. 


Meantime, so sure had Col. Olcott been of the efficacy 
of his plans of battle that he had committed himself still 
further and still more irretrievably. Mr. Judge had re- 
ceived his letter of February 7 on March 10, 1894, as 
mentioned, and on the same day had cabled Col. Olcott 
an absolute denial of the charges, a point-blank challenge 
to him to do his worst. 

Immediately on receipt of this cablegram Col. Olcott 
took counsel with himself and his allies. Mrs. Besant 
was still in India; Chakravarti’s subtle mind still avail- 
able. Mr. Judge had refused to resign; he had defied 
the options extended him; he had declared his inno- 
cence. ‘‘For the honor of the Society’’ another weighty 
move could be made. Accordingly, Col. Olcott forwarded 
forthwith two fresh ‘‘official’’ letters. The first of these 
was formally addressed to Mr. Judge as General Secre- 
tary of the American Section. It runs: 


AMERICAN SECTION SUPPORTS JUDGE 485 


THEOSOPHICAL SOCIETY, 
PRESIDENT’s OFFICE, 
20 March, 1894. 
To the General Secretary, 
American Section T. S. 
Dear Sir and Brother: 

In compliance with Section 3 of Article VI of 
the Revised Rules, I enclose herewith a copy 
of certain charges preferred against Mr. Wil- 
liam Q. Judge, Vice-President T.S. and General 
Secretary of the American Section, by Mrs. 
Annie Besant, F.T.S.; which charges will be 
laid before a Judicial Committee, to be con- 
vened at our London Headquarters on the 27th 
June next, for the consideration and disposal 
of the same, as provided for in the Section of 
the Article above specified. 

Upon receipt of this you will kindly take the 
orders of your Executive Committee for the 
nomination of two members of the said Judicial 
Committee, to sit as representatives of the 
American Section, and consider and dispose of 
the charges. 

Fraternally yours, 
H. S. Oucort, 
President Theosophical Society. 


The second letter was addressed to Mr. Judge as ‘‘ Vice- 
President, T.S.’’ and its text is as follows: 


THEOSOPHICAL SocrgTY, 
PRESIDENT’sS OFFICE, 
20 March, 1894. 
To William Q. Judge, Esq., 
Vice-President, T. S. 
Dear Sir and Brother: » 
As required by the provisions of Article VI 
of our Revised Rules, I herewith enclose for 
your information and action a copy of certain 


486 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


charges preferred against you by Mrs. Annie 
Besant, F.T.S., and notify you that for their 
consideration and disposal a Judicial Committee 
will be convened at our London Headquarters on 
the 27th June next. I have to request that you 
will nominate to me the two additional members 
of the Committee whom you wish to sit and 
adjudge the case as your personal representa- 
tives. 

As the accused party you will, of course, be 
debarred from sitting and voting in the Commit- 
tee either as Vice-President T.S. or General 
Secretary of the American Section; but you are 
entitled to enjoy the full opportunity to disprove 
the charges brought against you. 

Pending the decision of the Judicial Com- 
mittee, I hereby suspend you from the office of 
Vice-President T.S. as required by our Revised 
Rules. 

I am, Sir, fraternally yours, 

H. 8. Oucorr, 
President Theosophical Society. 


The first of these letters would compel Mr. Judge as 
its General Secretary to himself place the charges and 
the correspondence before the forthcoming Convention 
of the American Section due to be held at San Francisco, 
April 22, 1894, and thus put him on the defensive before 
his own Section against charges sanctioned by the 
President-Founder and Mrs. Besant, the two most im- 
portant and influential members of the Society—the two 
who had posed hitherto as his dear friends and col- 
leagues in the Society and the Movement. 

The second of these letters would force Judge as 
Vice-President to inform the members that he had been 
suspended by the President-Founder and thus himself be 
made the medium of conveying to them the information 
that the President of the whole Society felt himself com- 
pelled by the gravity of the case to suspend the Vice- 
President in advance of the Judicial Committee. It re- 


AMERICAN SECTION SUPPORTS JUDGE 487 


quires but little imagination to enable any one to picture 
to himself the consummate ingenuity of these stratagems, 
whereby the Convention, the American members, the 
press and the public would be influenced to draw in- 
ferences wholly adverse to Mr. Judge, wholly favorable 
to Mrs. Besant and the venerable President-Founder, 
thus reluctantly, but gravely and sternly, doing their 
duty ‘‘for the honor of the Society’’ even where the 
culty party was a high official and their dearest 
friend. 

It is more than interesting, it is one of the most tell- 
tale signs of the animus behind the whole of the ‘‘ Judge 
ease,’’ to observe how, in the second of the above letters, 
Col. Oleott betrays himself in spite of all his prepared 
‘‘revised’’ Rules with its ‘‘Sections’’ and ‘‘Articles’’ 
devised to lend a legal coloring to the planned attack. 
He tells Mr. Judge: ‘‘You are entitled to enjoy the full 
opportunity to disprove the charges brought against 
you.’’ There never was any ‘‘opportunity’’ to prove 
the charges, which rested wholly upon hearsays, sus- 
picions, circumstances innocent in themselves, and ‘‘mes- 
sages from the Masters’’ received by Mrs. Besant and 
Col. Olcott via Chakravarti and Mr. Walter R. Old. 

One has but to recall the well-known legal maxims that 
it is for the accusers to prove their charges, not for the 
accused to prove his innocence, and that any accused 
person must be assumed to be innocent until the charges 
are proven—one has but to bear these commonest of all 
safeguards for the unjustly accused in mind, to perceive 
over and over again in the progress of the ‘‘ Judge case’’ 
how his accusers acted at every step in defiance of every 
canon of ordinary human fairness and decency. The 
procedure of the Society for Psychical Research and its 
famous (or infamous) Committee in 1884-5 so violated, 
as we have earlier shown, every instinct of common jus- 
tice in its ‘‘investigation’’ of H.P.B. and her phenomena, 
as to earn for it the pity or the contempt of every fair 
and intelligent mind. The Coues-Collins-Lane-New York 
Sun ‘‘exposure’’ was the same thing repeated with 
greater ability and with conscious venom. But the 


488 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


‘¢‘ Judge case’’ is infinitely worse in its travesty of jus- 
tice, and has been, therefore, infinitely worse in its 
consequences to Humanity. 

To the honor of Mr. Judge be it spoken that at the 
Convention of the American Section his Report as Gen- 
eral Secretary breathes the same unwaveringly calm, 
fraternal tone as always—toward the workers, toward 
the President-Founder, toward Mrs. Besant. No man, 
we think, can read the Convention Report and contrast it 
with the Report of the Adyar Convention preceding, and 
not be cognisant of the difference between professional 
and genuine altruism. 

A formal letter from Mr. Mead as General Secretary 
of the Huropean Section, dated March 31, and addressed 
‘To the General Secretary of the American Section,’’ 
was read. This was a request that the recent corre- 
spondence be placed before the American Section. Ac- 
cordingly, Mr. Judge laid before the Convention the let- 
ter of Mrs. Besant of February 6 to Col. Olcott; the 
latter’s official letter of February 7; a copy of the Keight- 
ley-Mead circular letter; the two letters of Col. Oleott of 
March 20; and other correspondence ad interim. All 
were referred to appropriate Committees. 

At this Convention of the American Section April 22-3, 
1894, there were present delegates and proxies from all 
of the sixty-one active Branches. 

Resolutions were unanimously adopted: 

1. That the expense to which Mr. Judge has been put 
in printing and circulating his statement should be borne 
by the American Section; 

2. That ‘‘this Convention, after careful deliberation, 
finds that such suspension of the Vice-President is with- 
out the slightest warrant in the Constitution and alto- 
gether transcends the discretionary power given the 
President by the Constitution, and is therefore null and 
void’’; 

3. That ‘‘this Section, in Convention assembled, 
hereby expresses its unqualified protest against the said 
illegal action by the President of the Society, and can see 
no necessity for such action, and that even did the Con- 


AMERICAN SECTION SUPPORTS JUDGE 489 


stitution contain any provision for a suspension such 
action would be wholly needless and unbrotherly, inas- 
much as, by the Constitution, the Vice-President has no 
duties or power save in case of death, resignation, or ac- 
cusation of the President.’’ 

The existing situation on the whole subject of 
Mahatmas and Messages from Mahatmas or Masters, 
and the actual status of the whole problem, under the 
Objects and Constitution of the Theosophical Society, 
were declared in two Resolutions introduced by Dr. 
Jerome A. Anderson. Both of these Resolutions were 
unanimously adopted. They are of such value and im- 
portance in giving a matter-of-fact formulation of the 
issues that we reproduce them in full: 


Whereas, many members of the Theosophi- 
cal Society, including the late Madame Blavat- 
sky, Col. Olcott, W. Q. Judge, Mrs. Annie 
Besant, A. P. Sinnett, and others, have at vari- 
ous times and places expressed their belief in 
the existence of certain Mahatmas or Masters, 
and have claimed to be in communication with 
the same; and 

Whereas, the President, Col. Olcott, at the re- 
quest of one of the members, Mrs. Annie Besant, 
has recently demanded an official investigation 
by means of a Judicial Committee of the The- 
osophical Society, to decide whether or not Wm. 
(). Judge is in communication with the said 
Mahatmas, and whether or not the said Wm. 
(). Judge has ‘‘misused the names and handwrit- 
ing of the said Mahatmas’’; and 

Whereas, Under the Constitution and Rules of 
the Theosophical Society it is declared that the 
Society, as such, is not responsible for the per- 
sonal opinions of its Fellows, nor for any ex- 
pression thereof, and that no Fellow, Officer, or 
Council, of the Theosophical Society, or of any 
Section or Branch thereof, shall promulgate or 
maintain any doctrine, dogma, or belief as be- 


490 


THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


ing that advanced or advocated by the Society 
(Art. XIII); and the President having officially 
auc constitutionally in his executive order of 
May 27th, 1893, relative to the World’s Religious 
Parliament, declared this neutrality, especially 
in these words: 

‘‘Of course it is to be distinctly understood 
that nothing shall be said or done by any Dele- 
gate or Committee of the Society to identify 
it as a Body with any special form of religion, 
creed, sect, or any religious or ethical teacher 
or leader; our duty being to affirm and defend 
its perfect corporate neutrality in these 
matters.’’ 

Therefore, 

Resolved: That, in the opinion of this Con- 
vention, the action of the President, Col. Olcott, 
in calling such Judicial Committee to consider 
said charge was uncalled for, unconstitutional, 
illegal, and improper. 

Resolved: That this Convention hereby cor- 
dially endorses the interpretation of the Rules 
and Constitution of the T.S. recently expressed 
in a circular to members, signed by the Gen- 
eral Secretaries of the Kuropean and Indian 
Sections, and in the private circular of March 
15th, 1894, issued by William Q. Judge. 

Resolved: That this Convention hereby re- 
affirms the entire freedom of the platform of the 
T.S. and the religious and other opinions of its 
members, which entitles all and any of them to 
claim to be in communication with, to receive 
letters from, or to act as agents for, those above 
referred to as Mahatmas or Masters; or, on the 
other hand, to express disbelief in the proper 
title of any member to make such claim or 
claims, or disbelief in the existence of said 
Mahatmas. 

Resolved: That this Convention declares its 
unswerving belief in the integrity and upright- 


AMERICAN SECTION SUPPORTS JUDGE 


ness of the Vice-President of the T.S., Wm. Q. 
Judge, and expresses to him the most cordial 
thanks of the Section for his unrecompensed 
and self-sacrificing years of labor on behalf of 
the T.S. as a whole. 

Whereas: This Section regards official in- 
vestigation into the existence and methods of 
Mahatmas, and a dogmatic verdict rendered 
upon such investigation, as not only illegal under 
the Constitution but impossible in the absence of 
more profound knowledge of the science of Oc- 
cultism, and, therefore, absurd in the present 
instance, although such inquiry and investiga- 
tion are always proper privileges of individual 
members as such, therefore 

Resolved: That, if in the face of this pro- 
test and opinion of this Section, there is to be 
an investigation to decide whether or not Wil- 
liam Q. Judge is or was in communication with 
said Mahatmas, and whether or not he has ‘‘mis- 
used the names and handwriting of said 
Mahatmas,’’ or whether or not pretended or real 
communications or orders from said alleged 
Mahatmas have been issued or given out by 
him, then, in the opinion of this Section, an 
investigation should also be had to decide 
whether or not Col. Olcott, A. P. Sinnett, Annie 
Besant, and others have had, given, or promul- 
gated such or any communication from the 
Mahatmas, whether real or pretended; and that 
they be required to show evidence of the pos- 
session of a commission from said Mahatmas, 
and of the truthfulness of their claims as here- 
tofore frequently made and announced by them 
in public. 

Resolved: That, in the opinion of this Sec- 
tion, only a Body of Mahatmas appearing at the 
sessions of the Committee could decide whether 
or not any communication was or is a genuine or 
fraudulent Mahatmic message. 


491 


492 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


Advices of the action taken by the Convention of the 
American Section were cabled to Col. Olcott at once. 
We may now follow them to Adyar and observe the moves 
made on that side of the great checker board of The- 
osophical events. 


CHAPTER XXIX 
THE ‘* JUDICIAL ENQUIRY’’ IN LONDON 


CotonEL Olecott’s two letters of March 20, 1894, to Mr. 
Judge—the one to him as General Secretary of the Amer- 
ican Section and the other addressed to him as Vice- 
President of the T.S.—as detailed in the last chapter, 
were drawn up immediately following the receipt of Mr. 
Judge’s cabled denial of the ‘‘charges,’’ and just prior to 
Mrs. Besant’s departure from India. They were the 
President-Founder’s only communication to the Conven- 
vention of the American Section—the largest, the most 
active, the most influential of all the three Sections of 
the Society. When one contrasts the length and char- 
acter of his Annual Address at the preceding Adyar Con- 
vention with the nature of these two letters, but one 
inference can be drawn: The President-Founder had de- 
termined to ‘‘fight it out’? once more, and this time to 
the hilt; he had burned his bridges behind him; it was 
to be a fight without quarter that should leave the vic- 
tor in undisputed possession of the field. The spectacle 
of a living H.P.B. continually upsetting his most cher- 
ished plans to make of the Theosophical Society a world 
force with himself as its world-wide Head, had been well- 
nigh intolerable. Her continual insistence on Brother- 
hood as she understood it; her continual interference 
‘fin the name of the Masters’’ with his ‘‘practical’’ 
guidance of the Society; her Esoteric School pledged 
to Theosophy and the Theosophical Movement instead of 
the Society, pledged to follow her Instructions instead 
of his revised Rules—all this had been a continual thorn 
in his side. But each time that the ‘‘moment of choice’’ 
had been precipitated he had avoided the final wager of 
battle; the odds were too great, the liens established too 
strong. 

493 


494 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


But now—now was no longer dependent on H.P.B. 
for ‘‘messages from the Masters’’; Mrs. Besant, the 
‘‘sweet spirit and the guiding star’’ of the Esoteric 
School, the strongest factor in the Society as well as in 
the School, the most potent influence on the world at large 
as well as in the Society—Mrs. Besant was now his firm 
ally. Opposed to his ideas, his plans and _ policies, 
stood out only Mr. Judge. Two years had shown that 
Mr. Judge could not be moved from his firm allegiance 
to H.P.B. and all that H.P.B. had represented. Messrs. 
Sinnett, Bertram Keightley, Old, Sturdy, and Edge, the 
Countess Wachtmeister, the Hindus en masse, the great 
bulk of the English and European Theosophists—all 
these he could count on as imbued with the same ideas as 
himself. The time was come to banish the spectre of 
H.P.B. by driving Mr. Judge into exile—to make of 
the Theosophical Society what it should have been and 
ought to be. 

His letters to Mr. Judge were well calculated to create 
confusion, bewilderment, uncertainty, among the Ameri- 
can Theosophists—to throw Judge on the defensive, a 
helpless defensive, far more a helpless defensive than 
had paralyzed H.P.B.’s activities following the Coulomb- 
S.P.R. bombshell in 1884-5. So much for the American 
field. Remained England, Europe, and India to be 
aroused to the offensive. Mrs. Besant was returning to 
Kingland, whence she could not only direct the battle 
there, but could reasonably be expected to muster suc- 
cors and strong levies in the United States in spite of all 
that Mr. Judge or his friends could avail. And Mr. 
Walter R. Old was no mean understudy; he, too, was re- 
turning to England at the same time as Mrs. Besant. 

The ‘‘Supplement’’ to The Theosophist for February, 
1894, had contained a printed slip pasted to its pages and 
headed ‘‘T’o Members and Friends.’’ It was dated Janu- 
ary 29, 1894, and signed by ‘‘Walter R. Old, Rec. Sec. 
T.S.’? Mr. Old’s notice informed the members that, 
‘‘acting under medical advice received during a recent 
illness,’’ he was going to England for the summer and 
would leave India at the end of March. The familiar 


ENQUIRY ON JUDGE IN LONDON 495 


‘‘explanation’’ of his departure merely cloaked the fact 
that as his part of the tactics planned he was to return 
to England to aid in spreading among the English The- 
osophists the slanders dignified as ‘‘charges’’ against Mr. 
Judge. Mr. Old was well known in England, where he 
had many friends and much influence as a ‘‘psychie,’’ 
as an ‘‘astrologer,’’ as a former member of the E.S.T. 
Council, as a friend of H.P.B.’s and as in high favor 
with the President-Founder as well as with Mrs. Besant. 
For it must be remembered that the suspension of Mr. 
Old from the E.S8.T. was unknown at that time except 
by rumor among the general membership of the Society, 
while his intimacy with Col. Olcott and Mrs. Besant was 
a matter of common knowledge. 

The two letters to Mr. Judge were immediately fol- 
lowed up by Col. Olcott in the April, 1894, Theosophist, 
with an eight-page article devoted to ‘‘Annie Besant’s 
Indian Tour.’’ It is given over to the most fulsome 
laudations. We say ‘‘fulsome’’ because, like his similar 
remarks in his preceding Presidential Address, these 
reiterated encomiums on Mrs. Besant must necessarily 
be construed, not merely as extraordinary tributes of 
personal regard and esteem, but, in the light of collateral 
circumstances, as carefully planned, deliberately carried 
out steps of a predetermined march. Step by step with 
the belittlements of H.P.B. and the accusations pub- 
lished and circulated about Judge, marched the public 
cumulation of official and personal tributes to Mrs. 
Besant. 

The investigator of today will naturally compare and 
contrast the declarations of Col. Olcott in the mentioned 
article and in his Presidential Address, with the numer- 
ous statements made by him in regard to H.P.B., both 
those hitherto quoted and those with which the whole 
series of ‘‘Old Diary Leaves’’ is larded. He will offset 
the President-Founder’s strictures on H.P.B. and Mr. 
Judge with his laudations of Mrs. Besant and his searcely 
less veiled extolments of himself. He will consider 
scrupulously the attendant circumstances and the ‘‘con- 
trolling impulse’’ governing Col. Oleott in his ‘‘Old 


’ 


496 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


Diary Leaves’’ as recounted by himself in his Foreword 
to the first published volume. He will compare them with 
the various statements and acts of H.P.B. and Mr. Judge 
and all with the common objects and principles pro- 
fessed, to determine the consistency or inconsistency of 
each. 

The extraordinary article on Mrs. Besant was followed 
in the ‘‘Supplement’’ to the May Theosophist by some- 
thing more extraordinary still. In it will be found the 
text of an Executive Notice, the real significance of which 
has never yet been grasped by Theosophists at large, any 
more than it was at the time. We give it in full: 


Apyar, 27th April, 1894. 

The undersigned avails of Mrs. Annie Be- 
sant’s forthcoming visit to the Australasian Col- 
onies, to invest her with the functions of Presi- 
dent’s Commissioner, with authority to repre- 
sent him in all current Society business during 
her tour, and act for him and in his name in dis- 
posing of the same, as perfectly .as though it 
were his individual act. Mrs. Besant is em- 
powered to organize a Section or Sections; to 
authorize the formation of Branches; to admit 
persons to the Fellowship; to regulate disagree- 
ments and disputes within the Society; to remit 
at her discretion in cases of great poverty the 
whole or any part of any fee or other pecuniary 
contribution chargeable as a condition of mem- 
bership; and, generally, to exercise the same 
powers as are constitutionally enjoyed by the 
undersigned in his Presidential capacity. 

Mrs. Besant will, of course, make or cause to 
be made to the undersigned a full report of her 
official actions under the above special commis- 
sion and according to the revised rules of the 
Society. 

H. 8. Oucort, P.T.S. 


The Presidential ‘‘discretionary powers”’ are officially 
stretched to give Mrs. Besant sanction in advance to a 


ENQUIRY ON JUDGE IN LONDON 497 


range of arbitrary and unchecked authority that becomes 
the more astounding the more closely it is examined. 
She can organize at will, and upon terms named by her- 
self, ‘‘a Section or Sections,’’ under ‘‘revised Rules”’ 
that will give such Section or Sections the same voice and 
standing in the General Council as the existing demo- 
cratic Sections. She can ‘‘authorize the formation of 
Branches’’ to an extent and upon terms that will con- 
trol the Section or Sections she is to organize. She 
can ‘‘admit persons to fellowship’’—or deny them, in- 
evitably—upon terms that will control the Branches. She 
can remit dues in whole or in part. Finally, she can 
‘‘regulate disagreements and disputes within the So- 
ciety.’? What does this mean, if it does not mean that 
she can exercise absolute and unappealable authority, 
root, stalk, and branch, to any extent necessary to organ- 
ize and control a Section or Sections wholly pliant to her 
own will and purposes? What becomes of democracy, of 
neutrality, of individual liberty of conscience, under such 
canons of organizations and government? That at any 
time, in any event, under any circumstances, such pow- 
ers should be claimed, such authority desired, by any one 
soever, Master or man, is a categorical negation of every 
Object for which the Theosophical Society was supposed 
to stand. That they should have been exercised in the 
then existent circumstances, tells to what lengths the 
conspirators were prepared to go. The student has but 
to examine into the original Preamble and By-Laws of 
1875, the Rules adopted in December, 1879, the Consti- 
tutions of the American and British Sections of 1887 and 
1888, and compare them with the ‘‘revised Rules”’ 
adopted by Col. Olcott’s obedient General Council in De- 
cember, 18938, to discern how, in the interim, the Society 
had been engineered into an absolute autocracy wherein, 
under the forms adopted, the members had no rights 
whatever, ‘‘constitutionally,’’ save such as the General 
Council might choose to allot them, no voice and no ap- 
peal save as the ‘‘discretionary powers’’ of the Presi- 
dent might be ‘‘exercised’’ as an ‘‘act of grace.’’ 

So much for the general significance that must be at- 


498 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


tached to this Executive Notice; it is integral with the 
battle openly begun at the Adyar Convention at the end 
of 1888, the ‘‘Revised Rules’’ of 1893 but the full bloom 
of the ‘‘revised rules’’ of 1888. But what of its special 
import? That also must be inquired into. 

The answer is simple. Mr. Judge’s circular and that 
of Messrs. Mead and Keightley had reached Adyar; the 
news of the action taken by the Convention of the Amer- 
ican Section had been received. The plans of the ac- 
cusers were completely upset; the tables were turned; 
what was to be done? To appreciate Col. Olcott’s 
dilemma, to understand his consternation, the student 
should marshal the opposing situations as before him at 
the end of April, 1894. Thus: 

I. Backed by the revised Rules, confident that the pres- 
tige of Mrs. Besant and himself with the membership and 
the world would make their charges carry the assumption 
of guilt, the unavoidable inference was that Mr. Judge 
would avail himself of the option to resign. On the con- 
trary, Mr. Judge had denied absolutely any wrongdoing 
and, instead of retiring to the shelter of silence, had him- 
self made public the full facts, and had announced his 
determination to meet the issues: (1) that the whole 
proceeding was utterly unconstitutional; (2) that he 
would not oppose but would submit himself to any compe- 
tent investigation that did not involve the neutrality of 
the Society or set up a dogma; in other words, try out 
the facts of who was and who was not ‘‘in communica- 
tion with the Mahatmas.’’ 

II. Messrs. Mead and Keightley, counted on as allies 
and aids in the fight on Mr. Judge, had half risen in re- 
bellion; had declared that it was the President-Founder 
himself who was guilty of gross violation of the Consti- 
tution and the neutrality of the Society; had appealed to 
their respective Sections—the European and Indian— 
with a statement of the facts, and had announced their 
opposition to any attempt to set up a dogma on the 
subject of Mahatmas, and had demanded of the Presi- 
dent-Founder a categorical official reply to the points 
raised by them. 


ENQUIRY ON JUDGE IN LONDON 499 


III. The Convention of the American Section, with all 
the correspondence before it, had, as a democratic body, 
unanimously voted its protest against the spirit and the 
substance of Col. Oleott’s actions; had re-elected Mr. 
Judge its General Secretary; had declared its entire con- 
fidence in him as a man, as a Theosophist, as an officer 
in the Society; had taken a firm stand against any official 
interference with the freedom of speech and conscience 
of any member, high or low; had declared, if any ‘‘Judi- 
cial Committee’’ were to sit upon the question of Ma- 
hatmas and communications from them, that such in- 
vestigation must be complete and must include Col. Ol- 
cott, Mrs. Besant, Mr. Sinnett, and all others as well as 
Mr. Judge who had claimed to be in receipt of ‘‘messages 
from the Masters.’’ 

Colonel Olcott had counted with the confidence based 
on fifteen years’ experience that the Indian Section would 
obey any lead he might choose to give. He had counted 
that since the members and the other Sections had not 
hitherto actively opposed his repeated tampering with 
the Rules and his repeated executive ukases, no organized 
resistance would be offered to his plans to force Mr. 
Judge into exile by charges that in their very nature 
would paralyze any defense. Mrs. Besant had counted 
that her influence was strong enough with the British- 
European Section to make the members accept as proven 
any charges she might make, merely because she made 
them. Both she and Col. Olcott had counted that Mrs. 
Besant’s prestige was so great in America that no con- 
certed defense could be made of Mr. Judge in the Amer- 
ican Convention by those who might still believe in him. 
Sure of India, sure of Britain, sure at worst of a split in 
America, they had nothing to fear even when Mr. Judge 
cabled on March 10 his denial of the charges and his 
refusal of their options. If the matter came to a trial 
before a Judicial Committee, they held that Committee 
in the hollow of their hands. If the matter should go 
before the Sections they had expected to control two out 
of the three absolutely, with the assurance that at best 
Mr. Judge could count on nothing better than a split in 


500 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


the American Section. Mrs. Besant and Mr. Old, there- 
fore, had sailed confidently for England toward the end 
of March to complete their preparations at home for the 
forthcoming ‘‘trial.’? Colonel Olcott, on his part, went 
forward as confidently in India. 

Now, in a little month, the whole situation was reversed. 
Desperation took the place of confidence. The conspira- 
tors were divided by distance; deserted by two of their 
strongest allies; America unanimous in support of Judge; 
counter-issues raised that they could not meet. What 
was to be done? 

This was the situation in which Col. Olcott found 
himself toward the close of April, 1894. Yet he could 
not retreat; the battle was joined; he must go forward. 
What hurried interchanges took place between the con- 
spirators any thoughtful reader can infer for himself 
from merely visualizing the status of affairs and study- 
ing the President-Founder’s consequent steps. The first 
of these was the Executive Notice given. Its purpose is 
clear; if the warfare should be carried before the Sec- 
tions, as it was certain now that it must at last, two Sec- 
tions were absolutely requisite even to assure a ‘‘drawn 
battle.’? India was safe for the conspirators; America 
had already declared for Mr. Judge; Britain was still 
a hopeful prospect, but no more. Mr. Judge had friends 
there; who could say what might happen? But if Aus- 
tralia were organized into a Section—organized by Mrs. 
Besant robed with the Presidential ‘‘discretionary pow- 
ers’’ to accept or reject whom she would—then the new 
Australasian Section could be made as safely and entirely 
a ‘‘pocket borough’’ as India was already. Hence the 
Notice dated April 27, 1894. 

Chakravarti was a lawyer along with his other accom- 
plishments; N. D. Khandalavala was a judge in one 
of the Indian courts. Them and others the President- 
Founder consulted and the result was still another Hix- 
ecutive Notice, published in the ‘‘Supplement’’ to the 
May Theosophist immediately following on the Notice 
transferring to Mrs. Besant his extraordinary, emer- 
gency-planned ‘‘discretionary powers’’ to organize an 


ENQUIRY ON JUDGE IN LONDON 501 


Australasian Section. Because of its telltale signifi- 
cance, both in connection with the preceding events nar- 
rated and with what followed, we give it in full for the 
careful study of all students. It is dated on the same 
day as the Special Commission to Mrs. Besant—April 
27, 1894—and reads: 


The following facts are published for the in- 
formation of members of the Society: 

On February 6th last, while at Allahabad, 
Mrs. Annie Besant handed the undersigned a 
written demand that certain accusations ‘‘with 
reference to certain letters and in the alleged 
writings of the Mahatmas,’’ injurious to the pub- 
lic character of Mr. W. Q. Judge, Vice-Presi- 
dent of the Society, should be dealt with by a 
Committee as provided by Art. VI, Sees. 2, 3 
and 4. 

On the following day, from Agra, a copy of 
this letter was forwarded by the undersigned to 
Mr. Judge without the expression of any opinion 
as to the validity or otherwise of the accusations 
in question. No specific charges having then 
been filed, this was merely a_ preliminary 
measure. 

From a motive of delicacy no question was 
asked the accused as to his guilt or innocence, 
but the undersigned, in the exercise of his discre- 
tion, gave Mr. Judge the option of resigning his 
office or submitting the case to investigation. The 
implication being, of course, that if guilty, he 
would wish to retire quietly, or if mnocent, to 
be brought before the Committee, and thus set 
at rest, once and for all, the injurious rumors 
afloat, in different parts of the world. 

The alternative offered carried with it, as will 
be clearly seen, no intimation that the rumors 
were true, nor that the undersigned believed 
them so, or the contrary. 

Mr. Judge having cabled a denial of his guilt, 


502 


THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


the first step prescribed by the Constitution for 
such cases was then taken, viz., the ordering of 
a ‘‘ Judicial Committee’’ as provided for under 
Art. VI; the official notification of the same to 
the accused and the members of the General 
Council; and the serving upon each of a copy of 
the detailed charges and specifications, then 
drafted by Mrs. Besant as Accuser. The pro- 
visions of our Constitution were thus strictly 
followed out, and there has been no deviation 
whatever. 

It was hoped by the undersigned that the 
whole matter would have been kept private un- 
til the Committee had met, disposed of the 
charges and rendered its verdict, which would 
then have been officially promulgated by him. ~ 

But the opposite policy having been adopted 
by the accused and the General Secretaries of 
the European and Indian Sections, and printed 
circulars having been distributed by them 
throughout the whole world, secrecy is no longer 
possible, and hence the present Executive No- 
tice is issued, with the deepest regret for its 
necessity. 

The undersigned deplores that his colleagues, 
Mr. Mead and Mr. Keightley, should have acted 
in such haste as to have committed the indiscre- 
tion of censuring him for breaches in procedure 
and a violation of the Constitution of which he 
was not guilty. He regrets also that the fact 
of Mrs. Besant’s being the accuser should not 
have been mentioned, if the public was to be 
taken into confidence at all at this preliminary 
Stage. 

A detailed reply to Messrs. Mead and Keight- 
ley’s letter is in preparation and will be circu- 
lated to all Branches. 

To correct misapprehensions, the undersigned 
has to state that in the opinion of eminent coun- 
sel (Members of the Society) the trial of the 


ENQUIRY ON JUDGE IN LONDON 503 


charges against Mr. Judge does not involve 
the question of the existence or non-existence 
of the Mahatmas or their connection with the 
Society. 

The Judicial Committee is notified to meet in 
London on June 27th, and the undersigned finds 
himself compelled to attend, contrary to his 
wishes and expectations. He will leave Adyar 
about the middle of May for London, via 
Marseilles. 

H. 8: Oxcort, P.T.S. 


Taking this Notice of the President-Founder seriatim, 
careful examination and comparison will disclose: 

That it is published officially as a statement of the 
‘‘facts’’? and for ‘‘the information of the members’’; 

That its second paragraph conveys that Mrs. Besant 
made a ‘‘demand’’ for the Committee. The fact being, 
as we shall soon see over Col. Olcott’s own signature, 
that the alleged ‘‘demand’’ was made at his own request ;1 

That his own letter to Mr. Judge, conveying the same 
‘‘demand’’ was forwarded ‘‘without expressing any 
opinion as to the validity or otherwise of the accusations 
in question.’’ The fact being, as we shall abundantly 
verify over Col. Oleott’s own signature, that he was at 
the time and for nearly two years had been, firmly of 
the opinion that Mr. Judge was guilty of transmitting 
bogus messages.?2. The third paragraph discloses that 
such was the prejudgment of Col. Oleott and Mrs. Besant 
that both the ‘‘demand’’ was made and Col. Olcott’s 
letter of February 7 was written when no specific charges 
had. been filed, even. Yet Col. Olcott did not hesitate to 
require of Mr. Judge that he should either resign or be 
tried for charges not yet even formulated. By referring 
to Col. Oleott’s two letters to Mr. Judge dated March 
20, 1894, and reproduced in full in the last chapter, the 
student will note that in the intervening period the 

*See succeeding chapter—Col. Oleott’s Note to Mrs. Besant’s statement 
before the British Convention. 


7See Chapter XXXIII post—Col. Oleott’s statement in ‘‘The Case 
against William Q. Judge’’ is dated January 28, 1893. 


504 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


charges had been formulated and the two letters drawn 
up on the eve of Mrs. Besant’s departure from India. 
On the strength of these ‘‘formulated’’ charges Col. Ol- 
cott arbitrarily ‘‘suspended’’ Mr. Judge from the Vice- 
Fresidency, in advance of any trial. These items all 
show unmistakably both bias and conspiracy, to conceal 
which and give the impression of impartiality and le- 
gality to the steps taken is the manifest purpose of the 
Notice of April 27, put out for the ‘‘information’’ of 
the members. 

Its purpose is, plainly, so to twist the facts as to cause 
the members to believe, not only that he had acted im- 
partially and only as compelled by the constitutional pro- 
visions, on Mrs. Besant’s demand, but that Mr. Judge 
and Messrs. Mead and Keightley had behaved in a man- 
ner to be ‘‘deplored’’ by making known the actual facts 
and conditions to the whole Theosophical world; fur- 
thermore, he evades and denies his own primary respons!- 
bility in the phrase that he ‘‘regrets that the fact of 
Mrs. Besant being the accuser should not have been men- 
tioned.’’ The fact being that as Mrs. Besant was merely 
a private member of the Society and President of the 
Blavatsky Lodge, a London Branch, she had neither duty, 
right, nor privilege, under the Constitution and Rules of 
the Society, to bring any charges against any officer of 
the Society, or against any member, save of her own 
Branch, and that she acted directly at his instigation 
and request. 

The ‘‘detailed reply to Messrs. Mead and Keightley’s 
letter,’’ that the Notice states is ‘‘in preparation and 
will be circulated to all Branches,’’ was never, so far as 
we know, either ‘‘prepared’’ or ‘‘circulated.’’ All that 
he ever issued was a ‘‘plea in extenuation,’’ similar to 
the above quoted Notice. 

It will be noted that the ‘‘eminent counsel (Members 
of the Society),’’? in whose ‘‘opinion’’ the trial of the 
charges ‘‘does not involve the question of the Mahatmas 
or their connection with the Society,’’ are not named. 
They were, in point of fact, Chakravarti and the others, 
as stated, and although Col. Olcott lugs in this ‘‘opin- 


ENQUIRY ON JUDGE IN LONDON 505 


ion’’ to ‘‘correct misapprehensions’’? the fact is, as 
again we shall soon see, that he completely reversed 
himself and the said ‘‘eminent counsel’’ at the meeting 
of the Judicial Committee. 

Finally, the reader should compare and contrast the 
concluding paragraph of the Notice, in which Col. Olcott 
announces that he ‘‘finds himself compelled to attend’’ 
the meeting of the Judicial Committee, ‘‘contrary to his 
wishes and expectations,’’ with the statement in his letter 
to Mr. Judge of February 7: ‘‘TI shall in all probability 
be represented by proxy, unless something now unfore- 
seen should arise to make it imperative that I shall per- 
sonally attend.’’ The whole procedure had been so care- 
fully planned, and looked so entirely certain to the con- 
spirators in the beginning, that there had been no thought 
other than, if Judge should have the hardihood to refuse 
to resign and, instead, stand trial, the controlled Com- 
mittee would find him ‘‘guilty’’ out of hand, on the mere 
presentation of the ‘‘charges’’ sponsored by Mrs. Be- 
sant, backed by the President-Founder from Adyar, who 
could then, ‘‘after the Committee had met, disposed of 
the charges and rendered its verdict,’’ have ‘‘ officially 
promulgated’’ the pre-arranged ‘‘decision.’?’ Now, in 
view of all that had happened to set awry their well-laid 
plans, it was not enough to make Mrs. Besant the Presi- 
dential Special Commissioner; it was not enough to pub- 
lish another Eixecutive Notice for the ‘‘information of 
the members’’; it was become ‘‘imperative’’ indeed that 
Col. Olcott should ‘‘personally attend’’ the meeting of 
the Judicial Committee, lest worse befall than had al- 
ready occurred; lest the Committee not only find Mr. 
Judge ‘‘not guilty,’’? but proceed to investigate on its 
own behalf the actions of the President of the Society in 
his usurpation of powers, in the claims of himself and his 
fellow accusers to ‘‘messages from the Masters.”’ 

Skipping the intervening period of public silence and 
private wagging of heads, of external decorum and secret 
diligent planning of ways and means to avoid a defeat 
or a fiasco, we may attend the meeting of the Judicial 
Committee and then the immediately following Conven- 


506 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


tion of the British-Huropean Section, and observe what 
took place. The proceedings are officially reported in a 
record published in full in The Path, in Lucifer, in The 
Theosophist, immediately following the Convention, and 
also in a pamphlet officially issued under the title ‘‘THr 
NEUTRALITY OF THE THEOSOPHICAL Society. AN ENNQuiry 
INTO CERTAIN CHARGES AGAINST THE VICE-PRESIDENT, 
Hetp in Lonpon, Juny, 1894. Wirn an APPENDIX. 
PUBLISHED BY THE GENERAL COUNCIL OF THE 'T'HEOSOPHI- 
CAL SOCIETY, FOR THE INFORMATION OF Members. JULY, 
1894.’’ So runs the title-page. Let us first examine 
the ‘‘Mnquiry’’ and then the ‘‘ Appendix.’’ 

The President-Founder arrived promptly in London, 
but the Enquiry was not held on the date set, June 27. 
The time until July 7 was occupied in various abortive 
attempts to reach a compromise that would obviate offi- 
cial disposition, but Mr. Judge insisted that since the 
whole procedure up to date had been taken officially by 
the President-Founder, with himself as defendant against 
charges of dishonorable conduct, and with issues raised 
prejudicial to the Society as well as himself, it could 
only properly be disposed of by formal official action. 
Accordingly, Col. Olcott summoned a meeting of the 
General Council on July 7. There were present Col. 
Olcott, who presided, Mr. Bertram Keightley, who was 
chosen as Secretary of the Council meeting, Mr. G. R. S. 
Mead; and Mr. Judge who took no part in the proceed- 
ings. Col. Olcott read to the meeting a formal letter 
by Mr. Judge, stating (1) that he had never been elected 
Vice-President of the Society, and was not, therefore, 
legally the Vice-President of the Society; (2) that even 
if adjudged de facto Vice-President of the Society, he 
was not thereby amenable to charges of ‘‘misuse of 
Mahatmas’ names and handwriting,’’ since, even if 
guilty, such offenses would be those of a private indi- 
vidual and not as an officer of the Society; hence not 
subject, under the Constitution, to trial by a Judicial 
Committee of the Society as an official malfeasance. A 
legal opinion from a New York lawyer, Mr. M. H. Phelps, 


ENQUIRY ON JUDGE IN LONDON 507 


a member of the Society, was then read in support of 
Mr. Judge’s contentions. 

The matter was then debated, Mr. Judge remaining 
silent. Colonel Olcott informed the meeting that at the 
Adyar Convention of 1888 he had himself ‘‘appointed’’ 
Mr. Judge Vice-President by virtue of his own ‘‘pre- 
rogative’’ to make such an appointment and had pub- 
lished such title in the official list of Officers of the So- 
ciety, and that this appointment was unanimously ‘‘con- 
firmed’’ by vote at the Indian General Convention of 
1890, although the ‘‘official report’? of that Convention 
‘‘did not record the fact.’? Hence, he declared, Mr. 
Judge ‘‘was and is Vice-President de facto and de 
qure.’’ 

Having heard what Col. Olcott had to say as to the 
first point raised by Mr. Judge, the Council meeting 
made no decision, but passed to the second question. On 
this point renewed discussion took place, Mr. Judge re- 
maining silent as before. The minutes read: 


The matter was then debated. Bertram 
Keightley moved and G. R. 8S. Mead seconded: 
‘hat the Council, having heard the argu- 
ments on the point raised by William Q. Judge, 
it declares that the point is well taken; that 
the acts alleged concern him as an individual; 
and that consequently the Judicial Committee 
has no jurisdiction in the premises to try him 
as Vice-President upon the charges as alleged. 
‘‘The President Concurred. Mr. Judge did 
not vote. The motion was declared carried. 
‘‘On Mr. Mead’s motion, it was then voted 
that above record shall be laid before the Ju- 
dicial Committee. Mr. Judge did not vote.’’ 


This proceeding having been had, Col. Olcott then 
laid before the Council meeting a further point raised 
by Mr. Judge, to wit: that Mr. Judge’s election by the 
American, the British, and Indian Sections, as successor 
to the President in 1892 (at the time of Col. Oleott’s 


508 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


resignation), ‘‘became ipso facto annulled upon the 
President’s resumption of his office as President.’’ ‘‘On 
motion,’’ reads the official minutes, ‘‘the Council declared 
the point well taken, and ordered the decision to be 
entered upon the minutes. Mr. Judge did not vote.”’ 

Colonel Oleott then called the meeting’s attention to 
the resolution of the American Section Convention which 
declared in effect that the suspension of Mr. Judge was 
without warrant in the Constitution and transcended the 
President’s discretionary powers. On this it was moved, 
seconded, and passed, Mr. Judge not voting, that ‘‘the 
President’s action was warranted under the then ex- 
isting circumstances’’ and that the American Section’s 
‘‘resolutions of protest are without force.”’ 

Next, by motion (Mr. Judge not voting), ‘‘the coun- 
cil then requested the President to convene the Judicial 
Committee at the London Headquarters, on ‘T'uesday, 
July 10, 1894, at 10 a. m. The Council then adjourned 
at call of the President.”’ 

The Judicial Committee met on July 10, as required. 
There were present all the members of the Committee, 
as follows: Col. Oleott as President-Founder, in the 
chair; Messrs. G. R. 8. Mead and Bertram Keightley as 
General Secretaries of the Huropean and Indian Sec- 
tions; Messrs. A. P. Sinnett and E. T. Sturdy as dele- 
gates of the Indian Section; Messrs. Herbert Burrows 
and W. Kingsland as delegates of the European Sec- 
tion; Dr. J. D. Buck and Dr. Archibald Keightley as 
delegates of the American Section; Messrs. Oliver Firth 
and Ki. T. Hargrove as special delegates representing 
the accused—all as provided for under the ‘‘revised 
Rules’’ adopted at the Adyar Convention in December 
preceding. Mr. Judge was present as the accused, but 
not voting as General Secretary of the American Sec- 
tion. Mrs. Besant was present as the accuser. It should 
be noted that of the eleven members of the Judicial 
Committee, the Chairman, Col. Olcott, and Messrs. E. T. 
Sturdy and A. P. Sinnett were already fully convinced 
in advance of the guilt of Mr. Judge; Messrs. Bertram 
Keightley and G. R. 8. Mead convinced of Judge’s guilt, 


ENQUIRY ON JUDGE IN LONDON 509 


but equally convinced that he could not be ‘‘tried’’ for 
his offenses; Messrs. Herbert Burrows, W. Kingsland, 
and Oliver Firth, strong friends of both Mrs. Besant 
and Col. Olcott, but still in doubt as to Mr. Judge’s 
euilt and the legality of the whole proceedings. Of the 
remaining members of the Judicial Committee Dr. Buck 
and Dr. Archibald Keightley were fast friends of both 
the accused and the accuser, as well as of Col. Olcott; 
Mr. EK. T. Hargrove was a young barrister of excellent 
family just then coming into prominence among the Lon- 
don members of the Society, friendly to all parties, but, 
as the after events showed, well assured in his own mind, 
like Dr. Buck and Dr. Archibald Keightley, both that 
Mr. Judge was innocent of any wrong-doing and that 
the whole affair was a colossal blunder as well as legally 
defective. 

The meeting of the Judicial Committee being opened 
by the President-Founder, he read to the assembled 
Committee a formal letter from Mr. Judge as General 
Secretary of the American Section, stating that in the 
opinion of the Executive Committee of the American 
Section that Section was entitled to an extra vote in 
the Judicial Committee by reason of the fact that its 
General Secretary, being the accused, would not vote 
in the proceedings. On motion James M. Pryse, well 
known both in New York and London, was added to the 
Judicial Committee as a substitute for the General Sec- 
retary of the American Section. 

Colonel Olcott, as Chairman, then declared the Judi- 
cial Committee to be duly constituted, and at once pro- 
ceeded to read the following remarkable address as 
President-Founder of the Society. We give it in full, 
omitting only those parts already covered in the various 
documents quoted from: 


Gentlemen and Brothers, 

We have met together today as a Judicial 
Committee . . . to consider and dispose of cer- 
tain charges of misconduct, preferred by Mrs. 
Besant against the Vice-President of the So- 


510 


Having thus followed up the line adopted in the No- 
tice of April 27 which we have given, Col. Olcott pro- 
ceeds in his Address to the Judicial Committee to argue 


*See post, Col. Olecott’s Note to Mrs. Besant’s statement before the Con- 
vention on July 12, 1894, for his direct admission of his own responsibility 


THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


ciety, and dated March 24th, 1894 [it should be 
noted that the two letters to Mr. Judge, pur- 
porting to give the ‘‘charges’’ as an enclosure, 
and ‘‘suspending’’ the Vice-President in conse- 
guence, were both dated March 20th, 1894, four 
days before the date here given]... 

In compliance with the Revised Rules, copies 
of the charges brought by the accuser have been 
duly supplied to the accused and the members 
of the General Council... . 

Upon receipt of a preliminary letter from my- 
self, of date February 7th, 1894, from Agra, 
India, Mr. Judge, erroneously taking it to be the 
first step in the official enqumry into the charges, 
from my omission to mark the letter ‘‘ Private,’’ 
naturally misconceived it to be a breach of the 
Constitution, and vehemently protested in a 
public circular addressed to ‘‘the members of 
the Theosophical Society,’? and of which 5,000 
copies were distributed to them, to all parts of 
the world. The name of the accuser not being 
mentioned, the wrong impression prevailed that 
I was the author of the charges, and at the same 
time intended to sit as Chairman of the tribunal 
that was to investigate them. I regret this cir- 
cumstance as having caused bad feeling through- 
out the Society against its Chief Executive, who 
has been the personal friend of the accused for 
many years, has ever appreciated as they de- 
served his eminent services and unflagging devo- 
tion to the Society and the whole movement, 
and whose constant motive has been to be broth- 
erly and act justly to all his colleagues, of every 
race, religion, and sex. 


for the charges. 


ENQUIRY ON JUDGE IN LONDON 511 


and give his own opinions and conclusions on the various 
questions raised by Mr. Judge at the meeting of the 
General Council three days preceding, as recited, and 
concludes this portion of his Address by stating: 


From the above facts it is evident that W. Q. 
Judge is, and since December, 1888, has con- 
tinuously been, de jure as well as de facto, Vice- 
President of the Theosophical Society. The facts 
having been laid before the General Council in 
its session of the 7th inst., my ruling has been 
ratified; and is now also concurred in by Mr. 
Judge. He is, therefore, triable by this tribunal 
for ‘‘cause shown.”’ 


The President-Founder then passes to the second point 
raised by Mr. Judge. It is interesting to note that in 
this passage he enlarges the original charge as contained 
in his letter of February 7. He says: 


The second point raised by the accused is 
more important. If the acts alleged were done 
by him at all—which remains as yet sub judice— 
and he did them as a private person, he cannot 
be tried by any other tribunal than the Aryan 
Lodge, T.S., of which he is a Fellow and the 
President. Nothing can possibly be clearer than 
that. Now, what are the alleged offenses? 

That he practiced deception in sending false 
messages, orders and letters, as if sent and 
written by ‘‘Masters’’; and in statements to me 
about a certain Rosicrucian jewel of H.P.B.’s. 

That he was untruthful in various other in- 
stances enumerated. 

Are these solely acts done in his private ca- 
pacity; or may they or either of them be laid 
against him as wrong-doing by the Vice-Presi- 
dent? This is a grave question, both in its pres- 
ent bearings and as establishing a precedent for 
future contingencies. We must not make a mis- 
take in coming to a decision. 


512 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


In summoning Mr. Judge before this tribunal, 
I was moved by the thought that the alleged 
evil acts might be separated into (a) strictly 
private acts, viz., the alleged untruthfulness and 
deception, and (b) the alleged circulation of de- 
ceptive imitations of what are supposed to be 
Mahatmie writings, with intent to deceive; which 
communications, owing to his high official rank 
among us, carried a weight they would not have 
had if given out by a simple member. ‘This 
seemed to me a far more heinous offense than 
simple falsehood, or any other act of an indi- 
vidual, and to amount to a debasement of his 
office, if proven, . . . The issue is now open to 
your consideration, and you must decide as to 
your judicial competency. 


Although the original charge was ‘‘misuse’’—1.,e., imi- 
tatinge—‘‘the handwriting of the Mahatmas,’’ yet Col. 
Olcott proceeds to give it as his opinion that 





The present issue is not at all whether Ma- 
hatmas exist or the contrary, or whether they 
have or have not recognizable handwritings, and 
have or have not authorized Mr. Judge to put 
forth documents in their names. I believed, 
when issuing the call, that the question might 
be discussed without entering into investigations 
that would compromise our corporate neutrality. 
The charges as formulated and laid before me 
by Mrs. Besant could, in my opinion, have been 
tried without doing this. 


After this extraordinary admission and affirmation Col. 
Olcott proceeds to hasten to his own defense for having 
brought matters thus far and for what he now finds 
himself compelled to do—that is, to reverse himself 
completely : 

. . . [must refer to my official record to prove 


that I would have been the last to help in vio- 
lating a Constitution of which I am, it may be 


ENQUIRY ON JUDGE IN LONDON 513 


said, the father, and which I have continually de- 
fended at all times and in all circumstances. On 
now meeting Mr. Judge in London, however, 
and being made acquainted with his intended line 
of defense, I find that by beginning the enquiry 
we should be placed in this dilemma, viz., we 
should either have to deny him the common jus- 
tice of listening to his statements and examining 
his proofs (which would be monstrous in even a 
common court of law, much more in a Brother- 
hood like ours, based on lines of ideal justice), 
or be plunged into the very abyss we wish to 
escape from. Mr. Judge’s defense is that he is 
not guilty of the acts charged; that Mahatmas 
exist, are related to our Society, and in per- 
sonal connection with himself; and he avers his 
readiness to bring many witnesses and docu- 
mentary proofs to support his statements. 


The reader should engrave the foregoing upon his 
memory. It is Col. Olcott’s and therefore Mrs. Besant’s 
own admission, (1) that the constitutional questions 
raised by Mr. Judge were raised for the sake of the 
Society and not to evade ‘‘trial’’; (2) that his ‘‘line of 
defense’’ which makes the real ‘‘dilemma’’ for his ac- 
cusers, is simply that Mr. Judge ‘‘avers,’’ as Col. Ol- 
eott states, not only that he is not guilty, but that he 
is prepared to prove his connection with the Mahatmas. 
And although these very constitutional questions and 
Mr. Judge’s very avowal of innocence and readiness to 
meet an investigation were stated in Mr. Judge’s circu- 
lar of March 15, and although Col. Olcott six weeks later 
(in the Notice of April 27) declares that in the opinion 
of ‘‘eminent counsel’’ as well as himself the trial can 
properly take place as summoned, the President-Founder 
at London finds himself in a dilemma indeed. What if 
the trial should proceed and Mr. Judge actually prove his 
messages? Not to listen to Mr. Judge’s defense would 
be so monstrous indeed that not even the dullest or most 
prejudiced would fail to see its inequity, however they 


514 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


may have been blinded to the monstrous inequity of 
bringing these hearsay ‘‘charges’’ in the first place. How 
Col. Oleott evaded the real issue and at the same time 
did in fact what he had just characterized as ‘‘mon- 
strous even in a common court of law, much more in 
a Brotherhood like’’ the Theosophical Society, may be 
seen in his next words: 


The moment we entered into these questions 
we should violate the most vital spirit of our 
federal compact, its neutrality in matters of be- 
lief. . . . For the above reason, then, I,declare 
as my opinion that this enquiry must go no fur- 
ther; we may not break our own laws for any 
consideration whatsoever. It is furthermore my 
opinion that such an enquiry, begun by what- 
soever official body within our membership can- 
not proceed if a similar line of defense be de- 
elared. If, perchance, a guilty person should at 
any time go scot-free in consequence of this 
ruling, we cannot help it; the Constitution is 
our palladium, and we must make it the symbol 
of justice or expect our Society to disintegrate. 


Thus, in this one paragraph, is the admission in Col. 
Oleott’s own words and decision, of the impropriety 
and illegality of the original bringing of the ‘‘charges’’; 
the admission that every constitutional contention raised 
by Mr. Judge was correct; the admission that Mr. Judge 
was ready and willing to produce his proofs of Mahatmic 
intercourse; the admission that such a ‘‘line of defense’’ 
upset the whole procedure, and that the Enquiry ‘‘must 
go no farther’’—thus debarring Mr. Judge, foully ac- 
cused of dishonorable conduct, even from being ‘‘en- 
titled to enjoy the full opportunity to disprove the 
charges brought against you,’’ as Col. Oleott had writ- 
ten him March 20, when suspending him from the Vice- 
Presidency pending the meeting of the Judicial Com- 
mittee. In thus himself ignobly retreating from the field 
of battle the President-Founder in the bitterness and 
humiliation of his enforced reverse, cannot forbear a 


ENQUIRY ON JUDGE IN LONDON 515 


Parthian shot at his still untouched target as a prelude 
to his final admission: 


Candor compels me to add that, despite what 
I thought some preliminary quibbling and unfair 
tactics, Mr. Judge has traveled hither from 
America to meet his accusers before this Com- 
mittee, and announced his readiness to have the 
charges investigated and decided on their merits 
by any competent tribunal. 


The reader should impress these remarkable state- 
ments on his memory for the reason that when he comes 
to the final debacle he will find both Col. Olcott and Mrs. 
Besant solemnly affirming over and over again that Mr. 
Judge was ‘‘guilty,’’ as if that ‘‘guilt’’ had been proven; 
that he evaded a trial; that he escaped a trial through 
pleading what the lawyers call a demurrer. Still more, 
because in the quarter century since these lamentable 
episodes, not once but a hundred times have Mrs. Besant 
and Col. Oleott repeated the same statements to those 
who believed in all good faith their utterly untrustworthy 
testimony in any matter where the whole truth would 
show them grossly at fault or grievously in error. The 
reader should remember that their impeachment is out 
of their own mouths, not from other witnesses—Col. 
Olcott’s as just given, Mrs. Besant’s as shall follow in 
the extracts to be given aoe the Appendix to the ‘‘Neu- 
trality’’ pamphlet. 

After the foregoing Sey Col. Olcott argues in ex- 
tenuation of himself against the resolutions adopted by 
the Convention of the American Section, then reverses 
his action complained of therein. 


It having been made evident to me that Mr. 
Judge cannot be tried on the present accusations 
without breaking through the lines of our Con- 
stitution, I have no right to keep him further 
suspended, and so I hereby cancel my notice of 
suspension, dated February 7th, 1894 [here again 
is a significant admission, albeit unintentional; 


516 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


for the date of the letter of suspension, as offi- 
cially forwarded, was March 20], and restore 
him to the rank of Vice-President. 


The remainder of the President-Founder’s Address 
to the Judicial Committee is a half-apology for the ‘‘in- 
convenience’’ caused the members and others by the 
convocation of the Committee, and a plea for 
‘“brotherhood.’’ 

Mr. Mead then submitted to the Judicial Committee 
the minutes of the General Council meeting of July 7, 
as given. The Judicial Committee then adopted the fol- 
lowing resolutions: 


Resolved: That the President be requested 
to lay before the committee the charges against 
Mr. Judge referred to in his address. 

The charges were laid before the Committee 
accordingly. 

After deliberation, it was: 

Resolved: that although it was ascertained 
that the member bringing the charges [| Mrs. Be- 
sant] and Mr. Judge are both ready to go on 
with the enquiry, the Committee considers, 
nevertheless, that the charges are not such as re- 
late to the conduct of the Vice-President in his 
official capacity, and therefore are not subject 
to its jurisdiction. 


It will be observed from the foregoing that the report 
merely states that the resolutions were ‘‘adopted’’ by 
the Committee without giving the votes, pro and contra. 
The reader should understand that the delegates favor- 
able to Mr. Judge left it to the others to decide whether 
to proceed or not. 

Another resolution affirmed that a trial of the kind 
under enquiry would violate the neutrality of the So- 
ciety in matters of religious opinion. On this ‘‘four 
members abstained from voting,’’ according to the re- 
port. Their names are not given. Another resolution 
adopted the President’s Address, and still another reso- 


ENQUIRY ON JUDGE IN LONDON 517 


lution was adopted asking the General Council to print 
and circulate a report of the proceedings. The ques- 
tion was then raised whether the charges against Mr. 
Judge should be included in the printed report. On this 
Mr. Burrows moved and Mr. Sturdy seconded a reso- 
lution that ‘‘if the Proceedings were printed at all the 
charges should be included.’’ We think, in view of all 
the circumstances connected, and more particularly the 
step subsequently taken by them, that this resolution 
was introduced with the full knowledge and acquiescence 
of both Mrs. Besant and Col. Olcott. But when the 
assembled delegates came to see the full iniquity of offi- 
cially spreading broadcast a series of charges after hav- 
ing denied the accused the opportunity of meeting and 
rebutting them, this motion was too much for even the 
most prejudiced to stomach and be responsible for. The 
report says: ‘‘On being put to the vote the resolution 
was not carried.’’ Once more, the report carefully ab- 
stains from mentioning who voted for and who against 
this infamous resolution. After this, the report states, 
‘<The Minutes having been read and confirmed the Com- 
mittee dissolved.’’ 

It will be noted that every resolution adopted by the 
General Council in its session of July 7, and all the pro- 
ceedings of the session of the Judicial Committee on 
the 10th were taken.in exact accord with the remarks of 
the President-Founder in his Addresses to the two 
bodies. This shows two things, (1) that the sessions 
were the mere carrying out of a ‘‘cut-and-dried’’ pro- 
eram arranged by Col. Olcott and Mrs. Besant; (2) that 
they controlled the majority action of both bodies. A 
third matter is still more worthy of note: that in the 
entire proceedings, both of the General Council meeting 
and those of the Judicial Committee, Mr. Judge and 
those representing him took an entirely passive part. 
Having in his formal letters addressed to the two bodies, 
raised the necessary legal questions, and avowed his 
readiness to meet directly any trial of the real issues at 
stake, Mr. Judge remained silent throughout, leaving it 
to his persecutors to take what steps they would. He 


518 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT — 


made no attack on any of his enemies; he demanded no 
enquiry into the gross malfeasance shown by the Presi- 
dent-Founder; he brought no charges against those pres- 
ent whom he knew to be manipulating the proceedings; 
he did not ask that those who had themselves claimed 
to be ‘‘in communication with Masters’’ be put upon 
their voir dire and submitted to the same ordeal that had 
been thrust upon him; he made no comments, raised no 
objections, demanded no retractions, no apology. He 
had simply met squarely all that had been rumored, cir- 
culated, charged against him; that done, he had taken 
no advantage of the dilemma and the wrong-doing of his 
opponents. He had fulfilled to the uttermost scruple 
the rules of Occultism, its requirements of Brotherhood, 
and uttered no word of complaint or reproach at their 
violation by those sworn, like himself, to the First Ob- 
ject of the T.S., the pledge and Rules of the School of 
the Masters. His enemies he did not look upon as his 
personal foes, nor as intentionally dishonorable, but 
as probationers in the fiery furnace of ‘‘pledge fever,”’ 
knowing not what they did. As they had broken away 
from the lines, he could not help them, but he could, and 
did abstain from pushing them further afield. He knew 
that now all the facts were of record, so that no student 
need be misled by partisan or corrupted testimony. The 
whole Theosophical world could know that those high in 
the counsels of the Society had brought charges, had 
racked the world for evidences to sustain them, had had 
the entire proceedings in their own hands, and had them- 
selves been forced by the hollowness and inequity of their 
own conduct to reverse themselves completely, in order 
to save, not the Society, but themselves. 


CHAPTER XXX 
BRITISH CONVENTION DISMISSES CASE AGAINST JUDGE 


THE proceedings of the Judicial Committee occupied 
the greater part of July 10, 1894. Its sole essential de- 
cision was that it had no jurisdiction under the Consti- 
tution and Rules of the Society to enquire into the charges 
made against Mr. Judge. After recording this decision 
and requesting the General Council to publish the entire 
proceedings, the Judicial Committee adjourned sine die. 

Purely negative as was the decision of the Judicial 
Committee, it produced momentous and immediate con- 
sequences—consequences evidently wholly unanticipated 
by either Col. Olcott or Mrs. Besant. For, no sooner 
were the details of the proceedings noised about among 
the Theosophists then assembled in London for the Con- 
vention of the European Section, than a sharp reaction 
set in against the two accusers who had played the lead- 
ing part in the great scandal which had been convulsing 
the Society for the preceding five months. The very 
course that Col. Olcott and Mrs. Besant had felt con- 
strained to adopt to save themselves was a direct, though 
tacit, admission that they had been wholly in the wrong, 
legally as well as morally, in bringing the charges at 
all, and this unavoidable inference contained within it- 
self a terrible backlash. 

In bringing the charges in the first place, Mrs. Besant 
had declared that they were believed in by reputable 
members of the Society and should be investigated; Col. 
Olcott, that it had been his duty under the Constitution 
to summon Mr. Judge for trial and to suspend him from 
his office of Vice-President in the interval. Both had 
affirmed repeatedly that they were personal friends of 
Mr. Judge and were moved by the desire to free him 

519 


520 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


from the taint of calumny and afford him the oppor- 
tunity to meet the accusations directly and disprove them 
if he could. Judge had raised three direct issues: (1) 
that his offense, if any, was not as Vice-President but as 
an individual, and therefore not triable under the Con- 
stitution and Rules of the Society, but by the Branch 
to which he belonged—the Aryan Society of New York; 
(2) that any trial by the Society of alleged ‘‘imitating 
the handwriting of Mahatmas’’ was necessarily to in- 
volve the question of the existence of such Beings and 
Their connection with the Society and individuals in it, 
thus affixing a dogma to the Society; (38) that if, not- 
withstanding, his accusers were determined to proceed, 
he stood ready to produce witnesses and documents to 
prove his own direct connection with these Mahatmas. 

The members could but remember that Mr. Judge had 
instantly raised all three questions in his circular of 
March 15, the moment the charges were sponsored by 
Col. Olcott and Mrs. Besant. They could but remember 
that Col. Olcott, in suspending him from office, had 
grandiloquently informed him that he should be afforded 
an opportunity to disprove the charges. They could but 
remember that Col. Olcott in his Executive Notice of 
April 27 had affirmed that in his own opinion and that 
of ‘‘eminent counsel, members of the Society,’’ Mr. 
Judge could be tried ‘‘without involving the neutrality 
of the Society.’’ The President-Founder’s Address to 
the Judicial Committee could be looked upon, therefore, 
only as a square backdown from the position originally 
assumed and maintained down to the very date of the 
‘“trial,’’ and, since Mrs. Besant was bound up with him 
in the course taken throughout, it was equally a complete 
reversal on her part. 

It was perfectly well known to all that the ‘‘Consti- 
tution and Rules’? had been arranged year after year 
by Col. Olcott to suit his own ideas, and it was an open 
secret to many that the present Rules had been ‘‘revised’’ 
to clear the way to the ‘‘trial.’’ And it was well under- 
stood by all that the majority of the General Council 
and of the Judicial Committee was entirely plastic to 


CASE AGAINST JUDGE DISMISSED 521 


the President-Founder’s wishes—so much go that many 
‘‘neutrals’’ and friends of Mr. Judge as well as the 
followers of Col. Oleott and Mrs. Besant were surprised 
beyond measure at the turn of events. What had oc- 
curred to upset an apparently ready-made program 
which had kept the Society in a ferment for five months 
with a scandal most hurtful to all and most injurious to 
the reputation of its Vice-President? ‘The facts were 
still undetermined, the mischief unrepaired, by this ap- 
parently arbitrary and final decision of the Judicial Com- 
mittee under the influence of Col. Olecott’s Address. Were 
Col. Olcott and Mrs. Besant sincerely repentant of the 
wrong done? Or was it to be inferred as the true ex- 
planation of this mysterious change of front in the face 
of Mr. Judge’s defense that the accusers did not want 
the facts known; that they feared he could prove his 
claim of communications from the Mahatmas; feared 
that that done, a clamor would go up for Mrs. Besant, 
Col. Olcott, Mr. Sinnett, and all others who had claimed 
communications, also to prove their claims; feared the 
consequences if all the facts should become public? 

It can, then, well be imagined what commotion ensued 
when all the inferences deducible from Col. Olcott’s Ad- 
dress and the decision of the Judicial Committee were 
freely aired. On the 11th, therefore, Mrs. Besant and 
Col. Olcott found themselves in a most unenviable posi- 
tion. Restive under the fire of criticism, as is ever the 
case with those most ready to lay down the law for 
others, it behove them to do something—anything—to 
escape the threatened engulfment. Mrs. Besant pro- 
posed to Dr. J. D. Buck that, in view of the situation, 
a ‘‘Jury of Honor’’ be impaneled to pass upon the 
‘‘charges,’’ and suggested the names of Messrs. Sin- 
nett, Bertram Keightley, Sturdy, Burrows, and Firth for 
membership on such a jury. This was declined on the 
grounds that Mr. Judge had not yet been supplied with 
certified copies of the documents proposed to be used 
as ‘‘evidence’’ against him; that it would require time 
for him to produce witnesses and documents in rebuttal; 
finally, that the majority of the names submitted were 


522 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


those of men known to be already prejudiced against 
him, and that a jury, if chosen, should be composed of 
members qualified to weigh and pass upon principles, 
processes, and evidences necessarily connected with ‘‘pre- 
cipitations’’ and other ‘‘Occult’’ phenomena. As there 
were few indeed of the well-known Theosophists then in 
London who had not already expressed opinions for or 
against the questions involved, and fewer still who were 
ready to ‘‘qualify’’ as competent judges of the facts of 
Occult phenomena, it was speedily seen that the ex- 
pedient of a Jury of Honor would leave the situation 
worse than ever. 

Yet to leave matters as they were was intolerable, 
whether from the standpoint of the predicament of the 
accusers or the more noble one of the well-being of the 
Society. Mrs. Besant next proposed that she herself 
prepare a statement of the case, that Mr. Judge do the 
same, and that the two statements be read before the 
Convention of the European Section which then, with 
the statements before it, should serve as a jury and take 
such action as to it might seem proper. Dr. Buck ac- 
cepted this proposition on behalf of Mr. Judge and the 
statements were accordingly read at the third session of 
the Convention on the evening of July 12th. Both state- 
ments are here given in full from the text of the ‘‘Neu- 
trality’’ pamphlet. 


STATEMENT BY ANNIE Besant 


Read for the Information of Members at the 
Third Session of the Kuropean Convention 
of the T.S., July 12th, 1894. 


I speak to you tonight as the representative of 
the T.S. in Europe, and as the matter I have 
to lay before you concerns the deepest interests 
of the Society, I pray you to lay aside all preju- 
dice and feeling, to judge by Theosophical stand- 
ards and not by the lower standards of the world, 
and to give your help now in one of the gravest 
crises in which our movement has found itself. 


CASE AGAINST JUDGE DISMISSED 


There has been much talk of Committees and 
Juries of Honour. We come to you, our brothers, 
to tell you what is in our hearts. 

Tam going to put before you the exact position 
of affairs on the matter which has been filling 
our hearts all day. Mr. Judge and I have agreed 
to lay two statements before you, and to ask 
your counsel upon them. 

For some years past persons inspired largely 
by personal hatred for Mr. Judge, and persons 
inspired by hatred for the Theosophical Society 
and for all that it represents, have circulated a 
mass of accusations against him, ranging from 
simple untruthfulness to deliberate and sys- 
tematic forgery of the handwriting of Those 
Who to some of us are most sacred. The 
charges were not in a form that it was possible 
to meet, a general denial could not stop them, 
and explanation to irresponsible accusers was at 
once futile and undignified. 

Mr. Judge’s election as the future President 
of the Society increased the difficulties of the 
situation and the charges themselves were re- 
peated with growing definiteness and insistence, 
until they found expression in an article in The 
Theosophist signed by Messrs. Old and Edge. At 
last, the situation became so strained that it was 
declared by many of the most earnest members 
of the Indian Section that, if Mr. Judge became 
President with these charges hanging over him 
unexplained, the Indian Section would secede 
from the T.S. Representation to this effect was 
made to me, and I was asked, as well-known in 
the world and the T.S. and as a close friend and 
colleague of Mr. Judge, to intervene in the 
matter. 

I hold strongly that, whatever may be the 
faults of a private member, they are no concern 
of mine, and it is no part of my duty as a hum- 
ble servant of the Lords of Compassion, to drag 


523 


524 


THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


my brother’s faults into public view, nor to ar- 
raign him before any tribunal. His faults and 
mine will find their inevitable harvest of suffer- 
ing, and I am content to leave them to the Great 
Law, which judges unerringly and knits to every 
wrong its necessary sequence of pain. 

But where the honor of the Society was con- 
cerned in the person of its now second official 
and (as he was then thought to be) its Presi- 
dent-Elect, it was right to do what I could to put 
an end to the growing friction and suspicion, 
both for the sake of the Society and for that of 
Mr. Judge; and I agreed to intervene privately 
believing that many of the charges were false, 
dictated and circulated malevolently, that others 
were much exaggerated and were largely sus- 
ceptible of explanation, and that what might re- 
main of valid complaint might be put an end to 
without public controversy. Under the promise 
that nothing should be done further in the matter 
until my intervention had failed, I wrote to Mr. 
Judge. The promise of silence was broken by 
persons who knew some of the things com- 
plained of, and before any answer could be re- 
ceived by me from Mr. Judge, distorted versions 


of what had occurred were circulated far and 


wide. This placed Mr. Judge in a most unfair 
position, and he found my name used against 
him in connection with charges which he knew 
to be grossly exaggerated where not entirely 
untrue. 

Not only so, but I found that a public Com- 
mittee of Enquiry was to be insisted on, and I 
saw that the proceedings would be directed in a 
spirit of animosity, and that the aim was to in- 
flict punishment for wrongs believed to have 
been done, rather than to prevent future harm to 
the Society. I did my utmost to prevent a pub- 
lic Committee of Enquiry of an official char- 
acter. I failed and the Committee was decided 


CASE AGAINST JUDGE DISMISSED 


on. And then I made what many of Mr. Judge’s 
friends think was a mistake. I offered to take 
on myself the onus of formulating the charges 
against him. I am not concerned to defend my- 
self on this, nor to trouble you with my reasons 
for taking so painful a decision; in this decision, 
for which I alone am responsible, I meant to act 
for the best, but it is very possible I made a mis- 
take—for I have made many mistakes in judg- 
ment in my life, and my vision is not always 
clear in these matters of strife and controversy 
which are abhorrent to me. 

In due course I formulated the charges, and 
drew up the written statement of evidence in 
support of them. They came in due course be- 
fore the Judicial Committee, as you heard this 
morning. That Committee decided that they al- 
leged private, not official, wrong-doing, and 
therefore could not be tried by a Committee that 
could deal only with a President or Vice-Presi- 
dent as such. I was admitted to the General 
Council of the T.S. when this point was argued, 
and I was convinced by that argument that the 
point was rightly taken. I so stated when asked 
by the General Council, and again when asked 
by the Judicial Committee. And this put an end 
to the charges so far as that Committee was 
concerned. 

As this left the main issue undecided, and left 
Mr. Judge under the stigma of unproved and un- 
rebutted charges, it was suggested by Mr. Her- 
bert Burrows that the charges should be laid be- 
fore a Committee of Honour. At the moment 
this was rejected by Mr. Judge, but he wrote to 
me on the following day, asking me to agree with 
him in nominating such a Committee. I have 
agreed to this, but with very great reluctance, 
for the reason mentioned above; that I feel it no 
part of my duty to attack any private member 
of the T.S., and I think such an attack would 


525 


526 


THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


prove a most unfortunate precedent. But as the 
proceedings which were commenced against Mr. 
Judge, as an official have proved abortive, it 
does not seem fair that I—responsible for those 
proceedings by taking part in them—should re- 
fuse him the Committee he asks for. 

But there is another way, which I now take, 
and which, if you approve it, will put an end 
to this matter; and as no Theosophist should 
desire to inflict penalty for the past—even if he 
thinks wrong has been done—but only to help 
forward right in the future, it may, I venture to 
hope, be accepted. 

And now I must reduce these charges to their 
proper proportions, as they have been enor- 
mously exaggerated, and it is due to Mr. Judge 
that I should say publicly what from the be- 
ginning I have said privately. The President 
stated them very accurately in his address to 
the Judicial Committee: the vital charge is that 
Mr. Judge has issued letters and messages in the 
script recognizable as that adopted by a Master 
with whom H.P.B. was closely connected, and 
that these letters and messages were neither 
written nor precipitated directly by the Master 
in whose writing they appear; as leading up to 
this there are subsidiary charges of deception, 
but these would certainly never have been made 
the basis of any action save for their connection 
with the main point. 

Further, I wish it to be distinctly understood 
that I do not charge and have not charged Mr. 
Judge with forgery in the ordinary sense of the 
term, but with giving a misleading material form 
to messages received psychically from the Mas- 
ters in various ways, without acquainting the re- 
cipients with this fact. 

I regard Mr. Judge as an Occultist, possessed 
of considerable knowledge, and animated by a 
deep and unswerving devotion to the Theosophi- 


CASE AGAINST JUDGE DISMISSED 


cal Society. I believe that he has often received 
direct messages from the Masters and from 
Their chelas, guiding and helping him in his 
work. I believe that he has sometimes received 
messages for other people in one or other of 
the ways that I will mention in a moment, but 
not by direct writing by the Master nor by His 
direct precipitation; and that Mr. Judge has then 
believed himself to be justified in writing down 
in the script adopted by H.P.B. for communica- 
tions from the Master, the message psychically 
received, and in giving it to the person for whom 
it was intended, leaving that person to wrongly 
assume that it was a direct precipitation or 
writing by the Master Himself—that is, that it 
was done through Mr. Judge, but done by the 
Master. 

Now personally I hold that this method is il- 
legitimate and that no one should simulate a 
recognized writing which is regarded as authori- 
tative when it is authentic. And by authentic I 
mean directly written or precipitated by the 
Master Himself. If a message is consciously 
written it should be so stated: if automatically 
written, it should be so stated. At least so it 
seems tome. It is important that the very small 
part generally played by the Masters in these 
phenomena should be understood, so that people 
may not receive messages as authoritative 
merely on the ground of their being in a particu- 
lar script. Except in the very rarest instances, 
the Masters do not personally write letters or di- 
rectly precipitate communications. Messages 
may be sent by Them to those with whom They 
can communicate by external voice, or astral 
vision, or psychic word, or mental impression, 
or in other ways. If a person gets a message 
which he believes to be from the Master, for com- 
munication to anyone else, he is bound in honour 
not to add to that message any extraneous cir- 


527 


528 


THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


cumstances which will add weight to it in the 
recipient’s eyes. I believe that Mr. Judge wrote 
with his own hand, consciously or automatically 
I do not know, in the script adopted as that of 
the Master, messages which he received from the 
Master or from chelas; and I know that, in my 
own case, I believed that the messages he gave 
me in the well-known script were messages di- 
rectly precipitated or directly written by the 
Master. When I publicly said that I had re- 
ceived after H.P.B.’s death letters in the writ- 
ing H. P. Blavatsky had been accused of forging, 
I referred to letters given to me by Mr. Judge, 
and as they were in the well-known script I never 
dreamt of challenging their source. I know now 
that they were not written or precipitated by 
the Master, and that they were done by Mr. 
Judge, but I also believe that the gist of these 
messages was psychically received, and that Mr. 
Judge’s error lay in giving them to me in a script 
written by himself and not saying that he had 
done so. I feel bound to refer to these letters 
thus explicitly, because having been myself mis- 
taken, J in turn misled the public. 

It should be generally understood inside and 
outside the Theosophical Society, that letters 
and messages may be written or may be precipi- 
tated in any script, without thereby gaining any 
valid authority. Scripts may be produced by 
automatic or deliberate writing with the hand, or 
by precipitation, by many agencies from the 
White and Black Adepts down to semi-conscious 
Kilementals, and those who afford the necessary 
conditions can be thus used. The source of mes- 
sages can only be decided by direct spiritual 
knowledge or, intellectually, by the nature of 
their contents, and each person must use his 
own powers and act on his own responsibility, 
in accepting or rejecting them. Thus I rejected 
a number of letters, real precipitations, 


CASE AGAINST JUDGE DISMISSED 529 


brought me by an American, not an F.T.S., as 
substantiating his claim to be H.P.B.’s succes- 
sor... Any good medium may be used for pre- 
cipitating messages by any of the varied entities 
in the Occult world; and the outcome of these 
proceedings will be, I hope, to put an end to the 
craze for receiving letters and messages, which 
are more likely to be subhuman or human in 
their origin than superhuman, and to throw 
people back on the evolution of their own spir- 
itual nature, by which alone they can be safely 
guided through the mazes of the super-physical 
world. 

If you, representatives of the T.S., consider 
that the publication of this statement followed by 
that which Mr. Judge will make, would put an 
end to this distressing business, and by making 
a clear understanding, get rid at least of the 
mass of seething suspicions in which we have 
been living, and if you can accept it, I propose 
that this should take the place of the Committee 
of Honour, putting you, our brothers, in the 
place of the Committee. I have made the frank- 
est explanation I can; I know how enwrapped in 
difficulty are these phenomena which are con- 
nected with forces obscure in their workings to 
most; therefore, how few are able to judge of 
them accurately, while those through whom they 
play are not always able to control them. And 
I trust that these explanations may put an end 
to some at least of the troubles of the last two 
years, and leave us to go on with our work for 
the world, each in his own way. For any pain 
that I have given my brother, in trying to do a 
most repellant task, I ask his pardon, as also for 
any mistakes that I may have made. 

Annie BEsant. 


1Mrs. Besant here refers to Mr. Henry B. Foulke of Philadelphia, 
whose claims were recited and discussed in Chapter XXIII. 


530 


THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


(The above statements as to precipitated, 
written, and other communications have been 
made long ago by both H. P. Blavatsky and Mr. 
Judge, in Lucifer, The Path, and elsewhere, both 
publicly and privately.—A. B.) 


(Note by Col. Oleott—I cannot allow Mrs. 
Besant to take upon herself the entire respon- 
sibility for formulating the charges against Mr. 
Judge, since I myself requested her to do it. 
The tacit endorsement of the charges by per- 
sistence in a policy of silence was an injustice 
to the Vice-President, since it gave him no 
chance to make his defence; while, at the same 
time, the widely-current suspicions were thereby 
augmented, to the injury of the Society. So to 
bring the whole matter to light, I with others, 
asked Mrs. Besant to assume the task of drafting 
and signing the charges.—H. S. O.) 


STaTEMENT BY Mr. JupcE 


Since March Ist, charges have been going 
round the world against me, to which the name 
of Annie Besant has been attached, without her 
consent as she now says, that I have been guilty 
of forging the names and handwritings of the 
Mahatmas and of misusing the said names and 
handwritings. The charge has also arisen that 
I suppressed the name of Annie Besant as mover 
in the matter from fear of the same. All this 
has been causing great trouble and working in- 
jury to all concerned, that is, to all our members. 
It is now time that this should be put an end 
to once for all if possible. 

I now state as follows: 

1. I left the name of Annie Besant out of my 
published circular by request of my friends in 
the T.S. then near me so as to save her and 
leave it to others to put her name to the charge. 


CASE AGAINST JUDGE DISMISSED 


It now appears that if I had so put her name 
it would have run counter to her present state- 
ment. 

2. I repeat my denial of the said rumoured 
charges of forging the said names and hand- 
writings of the Mahatmas or of misusing the 
same. 

3. I admit that I have received and delivered 
messages from the Mahatmas and assert their 
genuineness. 

4. I say that I have heard and do hear from 
the Mahatmas, and that I am an agent of the 
Mahatmas; but I deny that I have ever sought 
to induce that belief in others and this is the 
first time to my knowledge that I have ever made 
the claim now made. I am pressed into the 
place where I must make it. My desire and 
effort have been to distract attention from such 
an idea as related to me. But I have no desire 
to make the claim, which I repudiate, that I am 
the only channel for communication with Mas- 
ters; and it is my opinion that such communica- 
tion is open to any human being who, by en- 
deavoring to serve mankind, affords the neces- 
sary conditions. 

5. Whatever messages from the Mahatmas 
have been delivered by me as such—and they are 
extremely few—I now declare were and are 
genuine messages from the Mahatmas so far as 
my knowledge extends; they were obtained 
through me, but as to how they were obtained or 
produced I cannot state. But I can now again 
say, as I have said publicly before, and as was 
said by H. P. Blavatsky so often that I have 
always thought it common knowledge among 
studious Theosophists, that precipitation of 
words or messages is of no consequence and con- 
stitutes no proof of connection with Mahatmas; 
it is only phenomenal and not of the slightest 
value. 


531 


532 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


6. So far as methods are concerned for the 
reception and delivery of messages from the 
Masters, they are many. My own methods may 
disagree from the views of others and I acknowl- 
edge their right to criticise them if they choose; 
but I deny the right of anyone to say that they 
know or can prove the non-genuineness of such 
messages to or through me unless they are able 
to see on that plane. I can only say that I have 
done my best to report—in the few instances 
when I have done it at all—correctly and truth- 
fully such messages as I think I have received 
for transmission, and never to my knowledge 
have I tried therewith to deceive any person or 
persons whatever. 

7. And I say that in 1893 the Master sent me a 
message in which he thanked me for all my work 
and exertions in the Theosophical field, and ex- 
pressed satisfaction therewith, ending with sage 
advice to guard me against the failings and fol- 
lies of my lower nature: that message Mrs. 
Besant unreservedly admits. 

8. Lastly, and only because of absurd state- 
ments made and circulated, I willingly say that 
which I never denied, that I am a human being, 
full of error, liable to mistake, not infallible, 
but just the same as any other human being like 
to myself, or of the class of human beings to 
which I belong. And I freely, fully and sin- 
cerely forgive anyone who may be thought to 
have injured or tried to injure me. 

Wiuram Q. Jupce. 


Taking Mr. Judge’s statement first, the student will 
note its terseness and its impersonality. Not once does 
he strike a defensive or an offensive chord. The tone 
is historical and dispassionate, as if he were discussing 
abstractions in which neither he nor anyone present could 
have the slightest personal concern. Although but a third 
the length of Mrs. Besant’s statement, Mr. Judge gives 


CASE AGAINST JUDGE DISMISSED 533 


in clearest terms all the items around which the original 
charges arose. He tells what the original accusations 
were, the coupling of Mrs. Besant’s name with them, 
why he made no mention of her in his circular, and gives 
in explicit words what he has done, why he did it, and 
why he makes his statement. The real issue stands out 
clear: Did he or did he not receive and transmit ‘‘mes- 
sages from the Mahatmas’’? He says he did so receive 
and so transmit messages from Them, but declines point- 
blank to say how or in what manner they were trans- 
mitted to or through him. He refers to what should have 
been common knowledge to all Theosophists—that the 
phenomenal accompaniments are neither proof nor dis- 
proof of the source of a message; that no one can be 
sure of the genuineness of a message unless he is able 
to see on the plane of its origin, that is to say, on the 
plane of causation. The whole statement might have 
been written by H.P.B. or by one of the Masters, for 
it does but repeat her and Their replies when the same 
questions were raised in regard to her messages and her 
other phenomena. In the whole statement there can be 
found no word of recrimination, of recantation, or eva- 
sion. He neither argues, disputes, nor extenuates. What 
he can tell, he tells simply, but he maintains the reticence 
of the genuine initiate concerning the modus operandi of 
Occult Science: ‘‘I did not so receive it; I cannot so 
impart it.”’ 

Careful comparison of Mrs. Besant’s statement with 
that of Mr. Judge will disclose the points of agreement 
and of contrast, both in matters of fact and in tone. On 
the real issue involved—whether or not Mr. Judge was 
in communication with the Masters and received mes- 
sages from them—she makes two significant and direct 
admissions: 


I believe that he has often received direct 
messages from the Masters and from Their 
chelas. 

I believe that he has sometimes received mes- 
sages for other people. 


534 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


What, then, was the assumed offense that had led her 
to bring the charges against Mr. Judge? Mrs. Besant 
states it several times: 


The vital charge is that Mr. Judge has issued 
letters and messages in the script recognizable 
as that adopted by a Master with whom H.P.B. 
was closely connected, and that these letters 
and messages were neither written nor precipi- 
tated directly by the Master in whose writing 
they appear. 

I believe that he has . . . received messages 

. In one or other of the ways that I will 
mention in a moment, but not by direct writing 
by the Master nor by His direct precipitation. 

I believe that Mr. Judge wrote with his own 
hand, consciously or automatically I do not 
know, in the script adopted as that of the Mas- 
ter, messages which he received from the Master 
or from chelas. 

I know now that they were not written or pre- 
cipitated by the Master, and that they were done 
by Mr. Judge, but I also believe that the gist of 
these messages was psychically received. 


Mrs. Besant expresses her views on the subject very 
succinctly : 


Now personally I hold that this method is 1- 
legitemate and that no one should simulate a 
recogmzed writing which is regarded as authori- 
tatwe when it 1s authentic. And by authentic 
I mean directly written or precipitated by the 
Master Humself. If a message is consciously 
written it should be so stated; if automatically 
written, ut should be so stated. At least so it 
seems to me. 


We have italicized the foregoing, because to our mind 
it is the key to the whole difficulty which beset Mrs. 
Besant and so many others. In the first place, it shows 


CASE AGAINST JUDGE DISMISSED 535 


that despite all her subsequent claims and affirmations, 
Mrs. Besant had no real knowledge of Occultism, but 
depended first, last, and all the time on externalities. 
Had she been an accepted chela, even, she would have 
known for herself how such messages are produced, and 
would have been under no necessity to speculate, guess, 
‘“believe’’ this, that, or the other, nor would she have at- 
tached any importance whatever to script, signature, seal, 
what-not. Moreover, this statement of hers shows that 
she had labored under gross ignorance even of what had 
been given out years before both by H.P.B. and Masters. 
For, in the Appendix to the fourth and post editions of 
‘<The Occult World’? Mr. Sinnett had given a long let- 
ter direct from the Master ‘‘K. H.’’ on the very subject of 
‘‘nrecipitations’’ in connection with the Kiddle incident, 
which showed the Master Himself ‘‘guilty’’ on his own 
confession of the very ‘‘method’’ which Mrs. Besant 
holds to be ‘‘illegitimate.’’ And in the extremely im- 
portant article, ‘‘Lodges of Magic,’’ H.P.B. in Lucifer 
for October, 1888—at the time of the public formation 
of the E.S.T.—goes at length into this very question. 
And with good reason: Mr. Sinnett and others had been 
whispering about the identical ‘‘charges’’ against her of 
‘‘forgery’’ and ‘‘false messages.’’ Like Mrs. Besant, 
these students had received ‘‘messages’’ through H.P.B. 
which comported with their ideas, and other ‘‘mes- 
sages’’ which upset their preconceptions. The one they 
had pronounced ‘‘genuine’’; the other ‘‘false.’’ H.P.B. 
set out to show the absurdity of this position, and her 
remarks should have been a standing lesson both to all 
thirsty aspirants for ‘‘precipitated messages’’ and to all 
neophytes in Occultism. H.P.B. wrote: 


We have been asked by a correspondent why 
he should not ‘‘be free to suspect some of the 
so-called ‘precipitated’ letters as being forger- 
les,’’ giving as his reason for it that while some 
of them bear the stamp of (to him) undeniable 
genuineness, others seem from their contents 
and style, to be imitations. This is equivalent 


536 


THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


to saying that he has such an unerring spiritual 
insight as to be able to detect the false from the 
true, though he has never met a Master, nor been 
given any key by which to test has alleged com- 
munications. The inevitable consequence of ap- 
plying his untrained judgment in such cases 
would be to make him as likely as not to declare 
false what was genuine, and genuine what was 
false. Thus what criterron has anyone to de- 
cide between one ‘‘precipitated’’ letter, or an- 
other such letter? Who except their authors, or 
those whom they employ as their amanuenses 
(the chelas and disciples), can tell? For it is 
hardly one out of a hundred ‘‘occult’’ letters 
that is ever written by the hand of the Master, 
in whose name and on whose behalf they are 
sent, as the Masters have neither need nor 
leisure to write them; and that when a Master 
says, ‘‘Z wrote that letter,’’ it means only that 
every word in it was dictated by him and im- 
pressed under his direct supervision. Generally 
they make their chela, whether near or far away, 
write (or precipitate) them, by impressing upon 
his mind the ideas they wish expressed and if 
necessary aiding him in the picture-printing 
process of precipitation. It depends entirely 
upon the chelas’s state of development, how ac- 
curately the ideas may be transmitted and the 
writing model wmitated. Thus the non-adept 
recipient is left in the dilemma of uncertainty, 
whether, if one letter is false, all may not be; 
for, as far as imtrinsic evidence goes, all come 
from the same source, and all are brought by 
the same mysterious means. But there is an- 
other, and a far worse condition implied. For 
all that the recipient of ‘‘occult’’ letters can pos- 
sibly know, and on the simple grounds of prob- 
ability and common honesty, the unseen cor- 
respondent who would tolerate one single 


‘CASE AGAINST JUDGE DISMISSED 587 


fraudulent line in his name would wink at an un- 
linuted repetition of the deception. 


More and more as the student studies, connotes, com- 
pares, he will be struck by the unconscious inconsisten- 
cies in Mrs. Besant’s statement. Here was a professedly 
devoted student of H.P.B.’s, a self-styled Occultist, 
pledged member of the E.S.T., who apparently, from 
her own statements, had no doubt that Mr. Judge was 
in ‘‘direct communication with the Masters,’’ yet who 
believed at the same time that he was ‘‘giving a mis- 
leading material form’’ to Their messages, a method 
which she held to be ‘‘illegitimate,’’ so illegitimate that 
she felt impelled to charge him with ‘‘forgery of the 
handwriting of the Mahatmas’’—and at the same time 
H.P.B., whom she called her ‘‘teacher,’’ had taught that 
this was the very practice of the Masters Themselves, 
and her own messages had been produced in identically 
the same way! 

Moreover, Mrs. Besant proceeds to argue as if it were 
something hitherto unknown, that ‘‘it should be generally 
understood . .. that letters and messages may be writ- 
ten or may be precipitated in any script, without thereby 
gaining any valid authority.’’ In thus arguing she was 
but repeating what H.P.B. and Mr. Judge had been 
teaching for years; but if she knew this to be the fact, 
why should she have attached such importance to 
‘“Mahatmas’ handwritings’’ precipitated ‘‘in a material 
form’’ through Mr. Judge or any one else? If ‘‘the 
source of messages can be decided only by direct spir- 
itual knowledge,’’ and if she had that knowledge so that 
she knew, as she claimed, that Mr. Judge’s messages 
themselves were genuine, why did she not affirm their 
genuineness to the doubters instead of charging Mr. 
Judge with ‘‘forgery’’? Or if the source can be decided 
only ‘‘intellectually by the nature of their contents,’’ 
why did she not discuss the contents instead of the form 
of the disputed messages? And if ‘‘each person must use 
his own powers and act on his own responsibility in ac- 


538 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


cepting or rejecting them,’’ what occasion or right at any 
time on the part of any one to charge any other with 
‘‘fraud’’ in connection with any ‘‘messages’’ soever? 
One wonders what miraculous ideas of Masters and Their 
powers over ‘‘time, space and matter’’ possessed Mrs. 
Besant and others. Did they think that Masters could 
work miracles and produce or precipitate messages at 
great distances and through intervening matter without 
an instrument of some kind at the receiving end? With- 
out an amanuensis at the far pole, to use H.P.B.’s tell- 
tale hint in the extract just given? 

The lack of logical perspective, the loss of discrimina- 
tion, the havoe of ‘‘pledge fever’’ possessing the ac- 
cusers is still further shown in Mrs. Besant’s statement 
of how she was led to bring the charges in the first place. 
For, she says, they came to her from ‘‘persons inspired 
largely by personal hatred for Mr. Judge,’’ and from 
‘‘nersons inspired by hatred for the Theosophical So- 
ciety and all that it represents.’’ If this was so—and 
it was indubitably true—what was the natural, the logical, 
above all the ethical and moral course for Mrs. Besant 
to take—Mrs. Besant ‘‘well known in the world and the 
T.S. and a close friend and colleague of Mr. Judge’’? 
Was it not to have taken up the cudgels in defense of her 
friend and brother whom she knew to be in direct com- 
munication with Masters; to have shown to all and sundry 
that such messages were to be judged by their ‘‘intel- 
lectual and spiritual contents’’ not by ‘‘handwriting,’’ 
seals, and other phenomenal incidents? To have brought 
charges against his slanderers instead of against their 
amnocent victim? 

But what did she do, by her own confession—for it 
is no less? She ‘‘agreed to intervene privately.’’ That 
intervention consisted in her writing to Mr. Judge 
January 11, 1894, following the Christmas, 1893, secret 
conference at Adyar. In this letter she told him she 
had the proof of his ‘‘guilt,’’ and demanded, as the price 
of her silence, that he should resign from the T.S. and 
the E.S., giving up his offices in both, ‘‘or the evidence 
which goes to prove the wrong done must be laid before 


CASE AGAINST JUDGE DISMISSED 539 


a committee of the T.S.’’ Yet her statement says: ‘‘I 
agreed to intervene, privately, believing that many of 
the charges were false, dictated and circulated malevo- 
lently, that others were much exaggerated and were 
largely susceptible of explanation, and that what might 
remain of valid complaint might be put an end to without 
public controversy.’’ Before this letter could possibly 
reach Mr. Judge, his defamers, she says, broke their 
promise of silence. Then what does Mrs. Besant do? 
After consultation with Chakravarti, Olcott, and Mr. 
Old, she wrote on February 6 her formal demand to 
Col. Olcott for the ‘‘investigation by a Committee.’’ 
She says that all this ‘‘placed Mr. Judge in a most unfair 
position, and he found my name used against him in con- 
nection with charges which he knew to be grossly exag- 
gerated where not entirely untrue.’’ Undoubtedly; but 
by whose consent and voluntary action was this use of 
her name and broadcasting of scandal and calumny made 
possible? 

As if this were not enough, Mrs. Besant, according to 
her own statement, although she ‘‘saw that the proceed- 
ings would be directed in a spirit of animosity, and that 
the aim was to inflict punishment,’’ nevertheless, in her 
own words: ‘‘I offered to take on myself the onus of 
formulating the charges against him.”’ 

Once Mrs. Besant’s statement and related actions are 
understood and weighed, the well-nigh unanswerable 
query arises: the facts being as they were, how could 
she do as she did? ( 

Weighing the situation from the merely human stand- 
point, the evidence justifies and compels the inference 
that Mrs. Besant lacked the sense of ethical perception 
and was, by consequence, constitutionally incapable of 
recognizing the moral obliquity of her own conduct as 
portrayed by herself in her statements. Despite the 
countless admonitions of H.P.B., and the abundant ex- 
amples with which the years were strewn, of the pitfalls 
and dangers which beset the path of those who ‘‘ wander 
from the discipline enjoined,’’ Mrs. Besant had taken 
no part of the lessons home to herself. Her case was 


540 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


that of countless others, only a more illustrious example, 
of those failures in Occultism of which the records are 
over full. What was their snare? Again it is profitable 
to recur to the statements of H.P.B. Im the article 
‘‘Lodges of Magic’’ quoted from above, H.P.B. gives 
it concisely : 
Hence, not a step in advance would be made by 

a group of students ... without any guide 

from the occult side to open their eyes to the 

esoteric pitfalls. And where are such guides, so 

far, in our society? ‘‘They be blind leaders of 

the blind’’ both falling into the ditch of vanity 

and self-sufficiency. The whole difficulty springs 

from the common tendency to draw conclusions 

from insufficient premises, and play the oracle 

before ridding oneself of that most stupefying 

of all psychic anaesthetics—IcNnoraNncz.’’ 


A Probationer of but two years’ standing at the death 
of H.P.B., Mrs. Besant began at once to ‘‘play the 
oracle,’’ to ‘‘fall into the ditch of vanity and self-suf- 
ficiency,’’ to ‘‘draw conclusions from insufficient prem- 
ises.’? H.P.B. dead (to her) she first looked to Mr. 
Judge as ‘‘guide from the Occult side,’’ and his strong 
help lifted her out of more than one esoteric pitfall. 
Came the day when the plaudits of the multitude ac- 
claimed her as an ‘‘authority.’’ Why should she have to 
look to Mr. Judge for inspiration, for messages, for direc- 
tion and correction? Why could she not force the doors 
to the unseen world on her own account? Was there not 
Mr. Sinnett with his ‘‘sensitives’’ in ‘‘communication 
with the Masters’’? Was there not Chakravarti with 
his new and wonderful ‘‘method of meditation’’ by 
which the results she craved could be procured? 

That Mrs. Besant never inspected her own conduct, 
never applied to herself the precepts she was constantly 
proclaiming to others, is, again, sharply shown in the 
opening paragraph of her statement to the Convention. 
She says to the delegates: ‘‘I pray you to lay aside all 
prejudice and feeling, to judge by Theosophical stand- 


CASE AGAINST JUDGE DISMISSED 541 


ards and not by the lower standards of the world.’’ 
Suppose Mrs. Besant had taken that admonition home 
to herself, as the Rules of the E.S. enjoined, would there 
have been any ‘‘ Judge case’’? Would there have been 
the ruin of the Theosophical Society? 

These things were missed by Mrs. Besant; they were 
missed by the students of the first generation of the 
Movement. Will they be missed by the students of today? 

Certain it is, that the delegates and members assem- 
bled at the third session of the European Section on 
the evening of July 12, 1894, saw none of the inconsisten- 
cies, none of the lessons contained in what they were 
witness of. One and all rejoiced that concord, as they 
thought, was once more restored, harmony once more 
triumphant, fraternity once more regnant, and that 
naught remained but to go on victoriously to still greater 
heights. For, as the ‘‘Neutrality’’ pamphlet recites: 


Having heard the above statements, the fol- 
lowing resolution was moved by Mr. Bertram 
Keightley, seconded by Dr. Buck, and carried 
nem. Con. 

Resolved: that this meeting accepts with 
pleasure the adjustment arrived at by Annie 
Besant and William Q. Judge as a final settle- 
ment of matters pending hitherto between them 
as prosecutor and defendant, with the hope that 
it may be thus buried and forgotten, and— 

Resolved: that we will join hands with them 
to further the cause of genuine Brotherhood in 
which we all believe. 


At the conclusion of the official proceedings of the 
third session of the Huropean Sectional Convention which 
terminated with the adoption of the foregoing Resolu- 
tions, a spontaneous outburst of fraternal feeling ani- 
mated all the delegates and visiting members of the 
Theosophical Society. On all sides those who had been 
rent by partisan emotions, those who had endeavored to 
remain neutral and impartial, leaders and followers alike, 
joined in mutual congratulations and felicitations over 


542 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


what seemed to be a complete restoration of unity and 
harmony. 

As the members separated and left the hall, they were 
handed copies of a leaflet being distributed just outside 
the door. When this leaflet was read, and the names 
attached to it noted, more or less of uncertainty arose 
as to its possible import. Although its statements were 
such as to meet the approval of any one, the peculiar 
circumstances in which it was drawn up and circulated 
raised at once the question of its necessity and appli- 
eation. Not till long afterward did Mrs. Besant and Col. 
Oleott admit and affirm that it was intended to apply to 
Mr. Judge and to leave still open the charges which all 
had thought to be disposed of once and for all by the 
London proceedings. These proceedings were, as stated, 
officially reported in the ‘‘Neutrality’’ pamphlet. In 
printing the proceedings in the August, 1894, number of 
Lucifer, Mrs. Besant preceded them in her editorial 
notes, ‘‘On the Watch-Tower,’’ with some comments in- 
troductory of the text of the leaflet spoken of, as follows: 


This number of Lucifer contains the text of 
the Enquiry into the charges made against Mr. 
W. Q. Judge. The statement appended to it, 
read by myself at the evening meeting of the 
Convention on July 12th, gives succinctly my 
own position in the matter, and contains all that 
I need say on the past. The future lies before 
us, and the Society will go forward unbroken; it 
has surmounted imminent danger of disruption, 
which threatened it. Had Mr. Judge succeeded 
to the Presidency, according to the election of 
1892, with these charges hanging over him, India 
would have rejected him and the Society would 
have been rent in twain; but in the course of 
these proceedings, that election has been de- 
clared null and void, and the choice of the So- 
ciety of its future President remains unfettered. 
A further gain is the putting an end to the ex- 
aggerated attacks made on Mr. Judge, and their 


CASE AGAINST JUDGE DISMISSED 543 


reduction to a definite form. Yet another is the 
clear reminder that the precipitation of a letter 
does not give it any authoritative character, and 
that no particular script should be accepted as 
evidence of the Mahatmic origin of a message. 
The Society will be in a healthier state for this 
clearing of the air, and will be in less danger 
from credulity and superstition, two of the 
deadliest foes of a true spiritual movement. 


The unconscious evasion by Mrs. Besant of her direct 
responsibility for the questionable consequences of her 
own actions, as already shown in connection with her 
Statement before the Convention, is again illustrated in 
the above-quoted editorial, by simply adding the undeni- 
able but omitted facts to her quoted words. Thus: 


the charges made against W. Q. Judge [by 
myself as their responsible sponsor]; 

The Society has surmounted imminent dan- 
ger of disruption which threatened it [because of 
those charges, made by me and inspired by Col. 
Olcott and Messrs. W. R. Old and G. N. 
Chakravarti] ; 

Had Mr. Judge succeeded to the Presidency 
with these charges hanging over him, India 
would have rejected him and the Society would 
have been rent in twain [because that was the 
alternative offered me by Olcott, Old, and Edge, 
and Countess Wachtmeister, if I would not join 
them in the campaign against the good repute 
of Judge]; 

A further gain is the putting an end to the 
exaggerated attacks made on Mr. Judge [attacks 
whose only validity was given them by my as- 
suming responsibility for them] ; 

Yet a further gain is the clear reminder that 
the precipitation of a letter does not give it 
any authoritative character, and that no particu- 
lar script should be accepted as evidence of the 


544 


When the suppressed facts are added to Mrs. Besant’s 
editorial statement above given, they shed a penetrating 
and clarifying light on the second editorial immediately 
following, and on the leaflet mentioned, and show that 
once again, as so often before and since those fateful days, 
to no one do Mrs. Besant’s homilies apply so aptly and 


THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


Mahatmie origin of a letter [a reminder which 
both H.P.B. and Mr. Judge had been repeating 
publicly and privately for years, but which Col. 
Olcott, Mr. Sinnett, myself, and many others had 
forgotten or ignored, so that, in making these 
charges against Mr. Judge because of doubt 
whether they were ‘‘precipitated’’ messages and 
whether the script was ‘‘authentic,’’ we had 
been relying on ‘‘precipitation’’ and ‘‘script”’ 
as ‘‘evidence,’’ by their ‘‘authoritative char- 
acter’’ of their ‘‘Mahatmic origin’’]; 

The Society will be in a healthier state from 
the clearing of the air [which Col. Olcott, I, 
and others, befouled by bringing these charges], 
and will be in less danger from credulity and 
superstition [into which Col. Olcott and I, no less 
than many humbler members, fell in attaching ~ 
‘‘authority’’ and ‘‘evidence’’ to ‘‘precipita- 
tions’’ and ‘‘scripts’’]. 


so fatally as to herself. She proceeds: 


TrutH Brrore anp In Aut THINGS 


The following declaration is aimed at an 
opinion too often finding expression among 
would-be Occultists of an untrained type, that 
what is falsehood on the material plane may in 
some ‘‘Occult’’ way be truth on a higher plane, 
and that the plea of ‘‘Occultism’’ excuses con- 
duct inconsistent with a high standard of 
righteous living. The spread of such views 
would demoralize the Society, and would tend to 
degrade the lofty ideal of Truth and Purity 
which it has been the effort of every great re- 


CASE AGAINST JUDGE DISMISSED 545 


ligious teacher to. uphold and enforce by .ex- 
ample. Some of us, feeling this strongly, drew 
up the circular printed below, and the seven sig- 
natories represent a large body of opinion in 
different sections of the Theosophical Society. 


If students of today, as then, instead of merely being 
content to approve these ethical formularies and to take 
it for granted that those who express noble sentiments 
are themselves inspired thereby, would rigidly examine 
and apply them, first and foremost, to themselves and 
those who utter them, none but the pharisees would 
have cause for complaint. Mrs. Besant and three of her 
co-signatories—Col. Olcott, Mr. Sinnett, and Mr. Bertram 
Keightley—were mainly responsible for the rupture of 
1895, as they were for the events now being discussed. 
Four of those signers—Mrs. Besant, Col. Olcott, Mr. 
Sinnett, and Mr. Leadbeater—continued with the The- 
osophical Society for many years—the Society of which 
Mrs. Besant and Mr. Leadbeater are today the recog- 
nized and responsible heads and guides, exoterically and 
esoterically. With the intervening twenty-five years of 
history made by them, the humblest student of Theo- 
sophical philosophy and events should have no difficulty in 
determining beyond peradventure for himself who were 
and are ‘‘would-be Occultists of an untrained type,’’ and 
who throughout the long course of Theosophical history 
have in practice taken the perverted path that ‘‘falsehood 
on the material plane may in some ‘Occult’ way be truth 
on a higher plane, and that the plea of ‘Occultism’ ex- 
cuses conduct inconsistent with a high standard of 
righteous living.’’ The existing ferment throughout the 
entire world-area of Mrs. Besant’s Society proves who, 
now as then, then as now, have spread views which have 
demoralized the Society and degraded the lofty ideal of 
Truth and Purity. 

Mrs. Besant’s second editorial, as given, was immedi- 
ately followed by the text of the leaflet which we 
give in full for its value to all those capable of making 
the application in the right quarters. 


546 


THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 
To Students of Occultism. 


OccULTISM AND TRUTH 


‘There is no Religion higher than Truth.’’ 
(Motto of the Theosophical Society) 


The inevitable mystery which surrounds Oc- 
cultism and the Occultist has given rise in 
the minds of many to a strange confusion be- 
tween the duty of silence and the error of un- 
truthfulness. There are many things that the 
Occultist may not divulge; but equally binding is 
the law that he may never speak untruth. And 
this obligation to Truth is not confined to 
speech ; he may never think untruth, nor act un- 
truth. A spurious Occultism dallies with truth 
and falsehood, and argues that deception on the 
illusory physical plane is consistent with purity 
on the loftier planes on which the Occultist has 
his true life; it speaks contemptuously of ‘‘mere 
worldly morality’’—a contempt that might be 
justified if it raised a higher standard, but which 
is out of place when the phrase is used to con- 
done acts which the ‘‘mere worldly morality’’ 
would disdain to practice. The doctrine that the 
end justifies the means has proved in the past 
fruitful of all evil; no means that are impure 
can bring about an end that is good, else were 
the Good Law a dream and Karma a mere de- 
lusion. From these errors flows an influence 
mischievous to the whole Theosophical Society, 
undermining the stern and rigid morality neces- 
sary as a foundation for Occultism of the Right 
Hand Path. 

Finding that this false view of Occultism is 
spreading in the Theosophical Society, we desire 
to place on record our profound aversion to it, 
and our conviction that morality of the loftiest 
type must be striven after by everyone who 
would tread in safety the difficult ways of the 


CASE AGAINST JUDGE DISMISSED 


Occult World. Only by rigid truthfulness in 
thought, speech and act on the planes on which 
works our waking consciousness can the student 
hope to evolve the intuition which unerringly 
discerns between the true and the false in the 
super-sensuous worlds, which recognizes truth at 
sight and so preserves him from fatal risks in 
those at first confusing regions. To cloud the 
delicate sense of truth here, is to keep it blind 
there; hence every Teacher of Occultism has laid 
stress on truthfulness as the most necessary 
equipment of the would-be Disciple. To quote 
a weighty utterance of a wise Indian Disciple: 

‘‘Next in importance, or perhaps equal in 

value, to Devotion 1s TrutH. It is simply im- 
possible to over-estimate the efficacy of Truth 
in all its phases and bearings in helping the 
onward evolution of the human soul. We must 
love truth, seek truth, and live truth; and thus 
alone can the Divine Light which is Truth 
Sublime be seen by the student of Occultism. 
When there is the slightest leaning towards 
falsehood in any shape, there is shadow and 
ignorance and their child, pain. This leaning 
towards falsehood belongs to the lower per- 
sonality without doubt. It is here that our 
interests clash, it is here the struggle for ex- 
istence is in full swing, and it is therefore here 
that cowardice and dishonesty and fraud find 
any scope. The ‘signs and symptoms’ of the 
operations of this lower self can never remain 
concealed from one who sincerely loves truth 
and seeks truth.”’ 

To understand oneself, and so escape self-de- 
ception, Truth must be practiced; thus only can 
be avoided the dangers of the ‘‘conscious and un- 
conscious deception’’ against which a MasTEr 
warned His pupils in 1885. 

Virtue is the foundation of White Occult- 
ism; the Paramitas, six and ten, the trans- 


47 


548 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


cendental virtues, must be mastered, and each 
of the Seven Portals on the Path is a virtue, 
which the Disciple must make his own. Out of 
the soil of pure morality alone can grow the 
sacred flower which blossoms at length into 
Arhatship, and those who aspire to the blooming 
of the flower must begin by preparing the soil. 

HoaaSOuconr, 

A. P. SINNETT, 

ANNIE BEsAnt, 

Bertram KEIGHTLEY, 

W. Wynn Wesvrcort, 

K.. T. Sturpy, 

C. W. LeapBeater.”’ 


This circular was conspicuous for the names signed to 
it; still more so for those not attached to it. Neither 
Mr. Judge nor any other of the many prominent The- 
osophists from America and Kurope then present in Lon- 
don was asked to join in the circular. In the circum- 
stances, the names actually signed can be construed only 
as being those of the principals in the cabal formed 
against Mr. Judge. Mr. Old’s name was omitted out 
of prudential considerations; he was still under suspen- 
sion in the E.S.T., but he was present in England dur- 
ing the time, was still on terms of intimate friendship 
with the leaders, and was in daily intercourse with 
them. Chakravarti was in India, but it requires no espe- 
cial exercise of ‘‘Occult powers’’ to discern that the 
‘‘wise Indian Disciple’’ whose ‘‘weighty utterance’’ was 
included in the text of the circular was none other than 
he, and his share in the strategy cannot be doubted. His 
‘f‘messages from the Master,’’ which inspired and sus- 
tained the tactics of the whole course of ‘‘the case against 
W. Q. Judge,’’ continued the preponderant influence over 
Mrs. Besant until she succumbed to the allurements of 
still another ‘‘Initiate’’ and his ‘‘messages’’ from the 
same ‘‘Masters’’—Mr. C. W. Leadbeater—when she 
quietly dropped Chakravarti as being ‘‘under the influ- 
ence of the dark Powers.’’ 


CASE AGAINST JUDGE DISMISSED 549 


This Mr. Leadbeater was originally a curate in a rural 
parish of the Church of England. He had been interested 
in Spiritualism for many years when he read Mr. Sin- 
nett’s two earliest books. Thereafter he held séances 
with Mr. W. Eglinton, a famous medium of the time who 
had been at Adyar while H.P.B. was there. Eglinton, 
like Mr. W. Stainton Moses (M.A. Oxon) had been 
helped by H.P.B. and had received various evidences 
through her of the existence of Masters, and joined the 
London Lodge in 1884. In a séance with Mr. Eglinton 
early in 1884, Mr. Leadbeater endeavored through the 
latter’s ‘‘control,’’ ‘‘Hrnest,’’ to get in ‘‘communication 
with the Masters.’’ This is referred to in Letter VII 
of ‘‘Letters from the Masters of the Wisdom,’’ a Letter 
received by Leadbeater through H.P.B. many months 
later, after he had avowed his desire to return with her 
to India. 

Accordingly Mr. Leadbeater went to India with H.P.B. 
late in 1884 and was at Adyar during the time of Mr. 
Hodgson’s investigations there, and became acquainted 
with the various Hindus at headquarters, notably with 
Subba Row. From Adyar Mr. Leadbeater was sent 
to Ceylon by Col. Oleott and while there began his career 
of infatuation with boys, his first relation of that kind 
being with C. Jinarajadasa, now Vice-President of Mrs. 
Besant’s theosophical society. 

Mr. Leadbeater returned to England in 1889, taking 
the boy with him. From then on he was intimate with 
Mr. Sinnett for whose son he served as tutor, and for Mr. 
Sinnett himself as the ‘‘psychic’’ through whom Mr. Sin- 
nett kept up his supposed communications with the ‘‘ Mas- 
ters of H.P.B.”’ 

Mr. Leadbeater was never at any time a member of 
the E.S8.T.S., nor in any way connected with H.P.B., 
after his return to England. Mr. Sinnett made him Secre- 
tary of the London Lodge after his return to England 
in 1889. The course and practices, public and private, 
of the London Lodge were wholly at variance with the 
Occult discipline taught by H.P.B.—were, in fact, identi- 
cal with mediumism, psychical research, and Hatha Yoga. 


550 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


No public rupture occurred during the life of H.P.B., 
but the relations between the London Lodge and those 
of the Blavatsky Lodge were of the slightest, and purely 
formal. 

The first breach in the accord between Mrs. Besant 
and Mr. Judge was due, not only to the influence of 
Chakravarti but, as well, to that of Mr. Sinnett. While 
a member of the E.S. and one of its Co-Heads, Mrs. 
Besant joined the London Lodge, and took part in the 
experiments of Messrs. Sinnett, Leadbeater, and the 
rest of the inner coterie, thus violating her pledges, 
and pursuing two absolutely antithetical systems of 
‘““Oeccult development.’’ When Chakravarti came to 
London, the ground for Mrs. Besant’s subornation had, 
therefore, already been well prepared. It is one of 
the ironies of the situation, as thus prepared, that 
ultimately, in 1907, Mr. Sinnett rejected the ‘‘Adyar 
manifestations’’ for which Mrs. Besant stood sponsor, 
and was forced to join in the ‘‘white-wash”’ of Mr. 
Leadbeater, whose practices with boys were exposed in 
the fall of 1906—and that Mrs. Besant was forced by the 
exigencies of her own situation to turn against Messrs. 
Sinnett, Chakravarti, and Leadbeater in order to defend 
herself against the taint of the latter, the doubts thrown 
on the ‘‘Adyar manifestations,’’ and secure the coveted 
position of President of the society after the death of Col. 
Olcott. 

Later on her further necessities caused Mrs. Besant 
to adjust the breach with Mr. Sinnett by making him 
Vice-President, and with Mr. Leadbeater by procuring 
his return to the Society, from which he had resigned 
during the investigation in 1906. Forced to choose be- 
tween two competing augurs, she chose Mr. Leadbeater 
rather than Chakravarti, whose usefulness to her was 
outlived, and since that period Mr. Leadbeater has been 
the ‘‘power behind the throne’’ of Mrs. Besant’s exoteric 
and esoteric autocracy. 

There is an enduring moral in all this for every sincere 
pugrim on the probationary Path, no less than for the 


CASE AGAINST JUDGE DISMISSED 551 


thoughtful enquirer into the mysteries of the workings 
of human consciousness. Unless the Theosophical stu- 
dent deliberately adopts and applies the philosophical 
and historical attitude in his consideration of such a com- 
plicated network of actions and actors as is presented 
in the three-fold evolution of the Theosophical Move- 
ment, he will, in his turn, fall victim to his own precon- 
ceptions and lack of discrimination, even though he be 
one who “‘sincerely loves truth and seeks truth’’—to 
quote from the very circular under discussion. And thus 
only, in very truth, can be avoided the dangers of the 
‘‘conscious and unconscious deception,’’—to repeat the 
words of the real Master, whom Mrs. Besant quoted as 
if they applied to others only and not to herself as 
well. 

To illustrate what is here endeavored to be considered, 
we may turn to the very message?” itself from which 
Mrs. Besant quotes. It was ‘‘precipitated’’ in a letter 
from Tookaram Tatya in 1885 to Col. Olcott, and was 
addressed to the President-Founder himself and all his 
associates. Taking Damodar’s indiscretions as a text 
from which to point a lesson as well as draw a moral, 
the Masrer said: 


This ought to be a warning to you all. You 
have believed ‘‘not wisely but too well.’’ To 
unlock the gates of the mystery you must not 
only lead a life of the strictest probity, but learn 
to discriminate truth from falsehood. You have 
talked a great deal about Karma but have hardly 
realised the true significance of that doctrine. 
The time 1s come when you must lay the founda- 
tion of that strict conduct—in the individual as 
well as in the collective body—which, ever wake- 
ful, guards against conscious as well as uncon- 
scious deception. 


7 For the complete text of this message, see ‘‘ Letters from the Masters of 
the Wisdom,’’ Adyar, Madras, India, 1919. Damodar is not mentioned by 
name in the message itself but in a note by the editor of the book, Mr. 
Jinarajadasa. 


552 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


Philosophically, here is a ‘‘message from the Master,”’ 
which any one might approve or disapprove on its merits, 
according to his judgment of its moral worth, quite ir- 
respective of its writer, the method of its transmission, 
or the attendant circumstances. Historically, Mrs. Besant 
and Col. Oleott both approved this message, believed in 
Masters and Their Wisdom, accepted and promulgated 
Their greater ‘‘message’’ of Theosophy, were both ‘‘pro- 
bationary Chelas’’ of these Masters. In weighing their 
conduct, therefore, they have to be measured by their 
consistency or inconsistency with the Theosophy and the 
discipline of the School they had made their own. Did 
they or did they not act in accord with the principles 
and rules by which they had bound themselves? The 
testimony of circumstance in connection with this ‘‘ warn- 
ing’’ which the leaflet quotes is of value. The message 
was sent following the Coulomb ‘‘exposure,’’ the deser- 
tion, by Col. Olcott and the rest, of H.P.B. As repeat- 
edly indicated by the course of events and their recital 
in this history, Col. Oleott and the others believed H.P.B. 
had been guilty, at times, of fraud, and that Damodar 
was a weakling imitator and blind worshiper of H.P.B. 
The anguish, the sense of the insult to the soul, the 
shame and humiliation of all this to a sensitive boy 
like Damodar, can be all too easily imagined by the 
most indurated. It well-nigh broke Damodar’s heart; 
it was his ‘‘fall,’’ indeed, and justified the Master’s say- 
ing in the same message that the ‘‘poor boy . . . had to 
undergo the severest trials that a neophyte ever passed 
through, to atone for the many questionable doings in 
which he had over-zealously taken part, bringing dis- 
grace upon the sacred science and its adepts.’’ 

The point is that that message was not addressed to 
Damodar (who was speedily called by the very Mas- 
ters to Their Company) but to Col. Olcott and his asso- 
ciates, individually and collectively, and its moral was 
for them, not Damodar, who had succeeded despite his 
‘‘many questionable doings’’ in achieving full accepted 
chelaship. How did Col. Olcott and his associates take 
the warning? As before they had believed H.P.B. and 


CASE AGAINST JUDGE DISMISSED 553 


Damodar ‘‘guilty’’ on accusations ‘‘inspired by hatred 
for the Theosophical Society and for all that it repre- 
sents,’’? so, in 1894, they formed the same belief in 
regard to Mr. Judge, and on the same ‘‘evidence’’ from 
the same sources. It seemed never to occur to Col. Ol- 
cott that here was a sharp, a very sharp reproof and 
lesson, for him to accept and apply to himself. For, dur- 
ing the ensuing three years he was engaged in a constant 
struggle with H.P.B. and with Mr. Judge who supported 
her, in opposition to the formation of the E.S.T., as 
he himself exposes in his ‘‘Old Diary Leaves.’’ What his 
feelings were is there plainly given by himself. An- 
other, and still sharper, warning was given him and 
others, therefore, in the ‘‘message’’ in August, 1888. 
Next, during the ensuing two years, he tacitly encouraged 
Prof. Coues in his attacks on H.P.B. and Mr. Judge, 
and abstained from any defense of his colleagues; finally, 
H.P.B. was compelled to take away from him and his 
imterference the Theosophical Society in EKurope. After 
the death of H.P.B., he began again to succumb to the 
old tendencies and temptations, despite all former experi- 
ences and warnings, and despite all that Judge could 
do to aid him, as H.P.B. had done before; finally, he 
passed under the cumulative sway of his own past actions 
and failures to heed the warnings given, to the place 
where he became the active tool, with Mrs. Besant and 
others of lesser repute, of ‘‘persons inspired by personal 
hatred of Mr. Judge and of the Theosophical Society and 
all that it represents.’’ 

Do we charge Mrs. Besant, Col. Olcott, or any of the 
lesser agents, with conscious, deliberate, premeditated, 
malicious intent and effort to assassinate the good name 
of Mr. Judge? 

Far, far from it. We charge them with nothing. We 
recite the facts on record, a record made by themselves, 
and argue from the facts such conclusions as sound logic 
may make inevitable. We weigh those facts in the light 
of the teachings of Theosophy, the Rules and Instruc- 
tions of the E.S.T. We have endeavored to pursue 
with them the identical course followed with regard to 


554 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


H.P.B. and Mr. Judge. That the conclusions reached 
are at polar antitheses in the one case and the other is 
due, not to differences in teachings, for they all professed 
the same teachings and the same regard for the rules of 
Occultism. The inevitable conclusions logically following 
from the facts and the philosophy show in the one case a 
steadily widening breach between profession and prac- 
tice; in the other a steadfast adherence in every vicissi- 
tude and strain to the self-imposed standard of conduct. 
But this being assumed for the moment by the reader, 
and it being granted that Col. Olcott, Mrs. Besant, and 
their coadjutors in 1894-5 were sincere throughout, the 
unavoidable question confronts writer and reader alike: 
What is the explanation of the conduct and actions of 
Mrs. Besant, Col. Olcott, and the rest? We answer: In 
the ‘‘warning addressed to all Hsotericists’’ in the Pre- 
liminary Memorandum of the E.S.T. They were the 
victims of ‘‘pledge fever’’; they were not ‘‘awake and 
on guard’”’ against unconscious self-deception; they be- 
lieved they could depart from the discipline of the School 
of the Masters, violate the Rules of the School, and yet 
‘‘avoid the esoteric pitfalls.’’ In the words of the Sac- 
ond Prelimimary Memorandum, they ‘‘lost their moral 
balance unconsciously to themselves.’’ Mere neophytes, 
mere probationers of the Second Section, they posed as 
Teachers of Occultism. They ‘‘spit back in the face of 
their Teacher’’—in the graphic words of the Master they 
professed to revere and obey. Instead of ‘‘ wiping away 
the filth with which the Teacher had been defiled by the 
enemy,’’ they first remained supine when the Teacher 
was attacked, and ended by defiling that Teacher them- 
selves. H.P.B. knew what had been, what was, and 
what was to be. At the time of the Coues-Collins-Lane- 
New York Sun assaults, when her sole vigilant defender 
was Mr. Judge, who was also assailed as infamously and 
venomously as herself, she wrote warmly of Mr. Judge, 
as she did so many times before and after, and called ‘‘on 
all those who will remain true to their pledges to do their 
duty ... when the time comes, and especially by their 
American brother,’’ who is ‘‘hated by certain persons as 


CASE AGAINST JUDGE DISMISSED 555 


unjustly as Iam by some unprincipled enemies who would 
still call themselves Theosophists.’’ 

Keclesiastical history is filled, East and West, with 
the records of those sincere persons, prelates and laity 
alike, who not having ‘‘learned to discrvminate truth 
from falsehood’’ in men, things, and methods, however 
facilely they intellectually grasped ‘‘the empty virtue of 
an abstract truth,’’ were led, step by step, by their own 
Karma to the point where they in all sincerity made a 
mockery of the Teaching and the Teacher they professed 
to revere and obey—where they saw and did evil, because 
that evil appeared to them good. How else have all the re- 
ligious persecutions of all time come about? How else all 
the false religions and the countless sects? 

To continue our narrative. After his return to the 
United States Mr. Judge reprinted the ‘‘Occultism and 
Truth’’ circular, with this appended note, initialed by 
himself : 


The general propositions found in the above 
as to morality and the higher type of Occultism 
are so old and have been so widely spread, so 
often dwelt on in the work of the Theosophical 
Society, that one would hardly suppose any mem- 
ber was unacquainted with them; but a good 
thing cannot be too often repeated, and hence 
all must instantly concur. The circular was is- 
sued in London for distribution, and a copy hav- 
ing been sent to New York it is published accord- 
ing to the desire of the signers. 

W. Q. J. 


Mr. Judge made no comments, raised no questions, 
voiced no complaints, ignored the inspiring motive be- 
hind the circular. He did the same with the article 
“TS. Solidarity and Ideals,’’ written by Col. Olcott as 
President of the Society as his contribution to the epi- 
logue of the London Enquiry, and sent, ‘‘with fine Italian 
hand’’? to The Path. Mr. Judge published it in full as 
the leading article in the October number, and let it 
stand upon its merits as one of the ‘‘exhibits’’ in the 


556 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


ease. Colonel Olcott sent copies also to Lucifer and The 
Theosophist. It was partially reprinted in Lucifer in the 
September number with a bracketed editorial addendum: 
‘This 1s an extract from an article which will appear in 
full in The Path.’’ The Theosophist printed it in its 
November number with a footnote, ‘‘From The Path.’’ 
The circumstances require a brief extract from the article 
for comparison with former pronunciamentos of the 
President-Founder, no less than to complete the setting 
of the stage following the London Enquiry. The Presi- 
dent-Founder says: 


The time seems to have come for me to say 
a word or two about the constitution and ideals 
of the Theosophical Society, so that they may 
be made perfectly plain to the thousands of new 
colleagues who have entered our membership 
within the past five years. ... 

After the lapse of nineteen years, the small 
group ... who casually met in... New York 
City, has expanded into a Society with nearly 
four hundred chartered Branches in the four 
quarters of the globe. ... 

What is the secret of this immense develop- 
ment, this self-sowing of Branches in all lands? 


The President-Founder gives the answer as it appears 
to him: It is the Constitution and proclaimed ideals of 
the Society.’’ He speaks of the Society’s aim (Objects) 
as caleulated ‘‘to attract all good, broadminded, 
philanthropic people alike.’? He discusses Theosophy 
and says: | 


One reason for our too general confusion of 
ideas, is that we are prone to regard The- 
osophy as a sort of far-away sunrise that we 
must try to clutch, instead of seeing that it is a 
lamp to light our feet about the house and in 
our daily walks. It is worth nothing if it is 
but word-spinning, it is priceless if it is the best 
rule and ideal of life... . I know, what many 


CASE AGAINST JUDGE DISMISSED 


others only suspect, that Theosophy is the in- 
forming life of all religions throughout the 
world. The one thing absolutely necessary, then, 
is to cast out as a loathsome thing every idea, 
every teaching which tends to sectarianize the 
Theosophical Society. We want no new sect, 
no new church, no infallible leader, no attack 
upon the private intellectual rights of our 
members. ... 

Hypocrisy is another thing for us to purge 
ourselves of; there is too much of it, far too 
much among us. The sooner we are honest to 
ourselves the sooner we will be so to our neigh- 
bors. We must realize that the theosophical 
ideal of the perfect man is practically unattain- 
able in one life. . . . Once realizing this, we be- 
come modest in self-estimate and therefore less 
inflated and didactic in our speech and writings. 
Nothing is more disagreeable than to see a col- 
league, who probably has not advanced ten steps 
on the way up the Himalayan slope towards the 
level of perfection where the great adepts stand 
and wait, going about with an ar of mystery, 
Burleighan nods and polysyllable words wnply- 
ing that he is our pilotbird and we should fol- 
low him. This is humbug, and, rf not the result 
of auto-suggestion, rank hypocrisy. We have 
had enough of it, and more than enough... . 


557 


After paying his respects in the sentences we have 


From the office windows of Madison Avenue 
or Avenue Road, Adyar seems very far away, 
and the fact of its being the actual centre of the 


italicized to his hypothetical ‘‘colleague,’’ whom every 
one understood to mean Mr. Judge, the President- 
Founder, after a further paragraph in the same vein, 
ealls on all members to join in ‘‘forgetting ourselves in 
building up the Society.’’ This leads him naturally from 
the Society to his favorite theme: 


558 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


whole movement is sometimes apt to be for- 
gotten. ... 

The heart, or evolutionary centre, is Adyar, or 
whatever other place may have the Executive 
Staff in residence; just as Washington is the 
heart of the American Union. . . . The boast of 
all Americans is that the Federal Government 
lies like eider-down upon the States in times of 
tranquillity, yet proves as strong as tempered 
steel at a great national crisis. So in the lesser 
degree is the federal constitution of the The- 
osophical Society, and in that sense have I ever 
tried to administer its business. We have passed 
through the recent crisis with ease and safety 
because of our Constitution, and it is due to 
that that we are today stronger and more united 
than ever before. ... 


Thus passed, or seemed to pass, the great storm in 
the exoteric body, the Theosophical Society. The crisis 
in the Hsoteric Section must now be considered. 


CHAPTER XXXTI 
THE ‘‘EASTERN DIVISION’? AND ‘‘ WESTERN DIVISION’’ 


APPARENT calm having been restored to the exoteric 
body of the Theosophical Society by the proceedings and 
results of the London Enquiry, as narrated, remained the 
far more difficult problem of a corresponding readjust- 
ment in the affairs of the Esoteric School of which Mrs. 
Besant and Mr. Judge had been, since the death of 
H.P.B., the Co-Heads. 

The London proceedings had demonstrated for the 
moment to the satisfaction of all one thing, at least, and 
that was that ‘‘Occult’’ phenomena, genuine or spurious, 
mediumistie or adept, formed no part of the business of 
the Theosophical Society, either under its proclaimed 
Objects or under its Constitution, Rules, and by-laws. 
This had been the one point insisted on by H. P. Blavat- 
sky throughout her lifetime, and no less insistently 
pressed by Mr. Judge after her death. The great wrong 
and evils inflicted by the bringing of the charges had 
thus been, to that extent, turned to good, and the atten- 
tion of all members, high and low, once more directed to 
the consideration and practice of the ethical, philosophi- 
eal and scientific basis and objects of the Society. A 
corollary resultant benefit was the practical realization 
for the time being that Occult phenomena cannot, in the 
present state of human evolution, be proved, from the 
evidences available to the reasoning mind; proved, we 
mean, in the same sense and to the same extent that physi- 
cal phenomena can be proved to the satisfaction of an 
impartial judge and jury in a court of law. In legal af- 
fairs the trial of a disputed issue, actual or moot, pre- 
supposes an accepted code of principles, laws, and proc- 
esses, for the determination of the facts, their causation, 

559 


560 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


bearings, and the resultant decree of judgment—accepted 
by and acceptable to all parties to the issue, regardless 
of whether the ensuing decision be for the plaintiff or 
the defendant. Manifestly no such code exists in the 
world for the determination of metaphysical cases at is- 
sue, and no more did nor does it exist, among believers 
in the ‘‘Occult.’’ 

The ‘‘Judge case,’’ and all similar cases, before and 
since, including the very status of H. P. Blavatsky, and 
the existence and status of her Mahatmas Themselves, 
has, before the bar of public and learned opinion, no 
locus whatever, using that word in its exact, mathemati- 
eal sense. And certainly among Theosophists, however 
assured their faith in the reality of ‘‘the Occult world 
and its inhabitants,’’ the whole question of Occult phe- 
nomena has been from the beginning, and still remains, 
sub judice, whether as to their principles, laws, and 
processes, or their actuality. They pertain, in their 
causal and effectual aspects, exclusively to the domain 
of the unknown First and Second Sections of the Theo- 
sophical Movement—that is to say, to the Masters, 
Adepts, and chelas of Occultism.t As shown by the 
repeated statements of the Mahatmas Themselves, no 
less than by the repeated statements of H.P.B. and 
Mr. Judge, mediumistic phenomena are one thing, the 
phenomena of Occultism quite another matter altogether, 
and it was never intended to perform or produce any 
Occult phenomena at any time of a character and ac- 
companiment to prove their verisimilitude to the re- 
cipient and other witnesses. To have done that would 
have been, as often stated by the Mahatmas, to have 
overwhelmed the mind of the race and to have induced 
and precipitated an irreparable catastrophe. The time 
has not yet come to teach and demonstrate the realities 
of the Occult world. Every ‘‘phenomenon’’ in connection 
with the career of Mr. Judge, no less than in connection 
with the mission of H.P.B. herself, was therefore left, 


*See, for example, the letters of the Mahatma ‘‘K. H.’’ to Messrs. Sin- 
nett and Hume in ‘‘The Occult World,’’ the first edition of which was 
issued in 1881. 


“EASTERN” AND “WESTERN” 561 


and purposely left, partially enshrouded in mystery for 
the recipients and witnesses. Their mission was pre- 
paratory to the great task of the twentieth century—the 
work of the Messenger of 1975. It was to arouse and 
provoke thought and inquiry, at all events among a choice 
minority, by the injection into the mind of the race of 
the zdeas and ethics of the Wisdom-Religion, and such 
phenomena as were performed can be distributed into 
two main classes: (1) those which were incidental, be- 
cause unavoidable, concomitants of their nature and 
work, and this class was little perceived or pondered by 
even the most intelligent of the students; (2) those phe- 
nomena which were produced intentionally in specific 
cases for or before given individuals. These were ex- 
tremely limited in number and variety, when all is said, 
no two of them were identical in circumstance and en- 
vironment, and no publicity was ever given any of them, 
m the first mstance, either by H.P.B. or Mr. Judge. 
The Karma of their publicity, as the Karma of their per- 
formance, was that of the recipients and witnesses, who 
had earned what they received, and having received such 
tokens, broadcasted them—against the admonition and 
the warning of H.P.B. and Mr. Judge in every case, 
be it noted. 

The ‘‘Esoteric Section’? was not formed until, in the 
words of H.P.B., the Society had ‘‘proved a failure”’ 
and ‘‘become a sham,”’’ because it had departed both from 
the original impulse and the original program. And in 
this ‘‘failure’’ and this ‘‘sham’’ must, of necessity, be 
included all those officers and leaders of the Society, how- 
ever highly placed or esteemed, who had brought about 
that departure. The Karma of the first fourteen years 
was the Karma of the Society, including its officers and 
members; the Karma of the ensuing seven years was 
the Karma of the ‘‘ Esoteric Section.’’ The Society had 
been weighed in the balance and found wanting, though 
it still lived on and was vicariously sustained by the 
‘‘Hisoteric Section’’ as a utilitarian instrument. The 
events of 1894-5 were the testing-out of the ‘‘ Esoteric 
Section’’ itself as a worthy or unworthy vessel. 


562 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


No more than the Theosophical Society was the 
‘‘Hsoteric Section’’ intended to be or become a ‘‘ Hall of 
Occultism, ’’ ‘‘a factory for the manufacture of adepts.’’ 
This is shown by all the esoteric as well as exoteric writ- 
ings and ‘‘messages’’ of Masters as well as H.P.B. and 
Mr. Judge. It is succinctly but unmistakably shown on 
the very first page of the First Preliminary Memorandum 
where it is specifically stated (the italics being our own): 


This degree of the Esoteric Section is proba- 
tuonary, and its general purpose is to prepare 
and fit the student for the study of Practical 
Occultism or Raja Yoga. Therefore, in this de- 
eree the student—save in exceptional cases—will 
not be taught how to produce physical phe- 
nomena, nor will any magical powers be allowed 
to develop in him; nor, if possessing such pow- 
ers naturally, will he be permitted to exercise 
them before he has mastered the knowledge of 
SEF, of the psycho-physiological processes (tak- 
ing place on the occult plane) in the human 
body generally, and until he has in abeyance all 
his lower passions and his PrErsonau SELF. 


All those who entered the E.S. did so voluntarily and 
were in honor bound either to abide by its conditions, of 
leave it altogether. As before shown, great pains were 
taken with each applicant that he should be fully informed 
of the nature of the School, its pledge, its Rules, its pur- 
poses and requirements, before he entered. Each and 
all were warned of the occult consequences—conse- 
quences which no one could avoid for them—of persistent 
violation of the School conditions sine qua non; while 
each one was notified before entrance that grave viola- 
tion of the School Discipline would entail his suspension 
or expulsion for the sake of those who might remain 
loyal. 

The conduct of Col. Olcott throughout the ‘‘ Judge 
case’? was a violation of the Constitution and Rules of 
the exoteric Theosophical Society and a departure from 


“EASTERN” AND “WESTERN” 563 


its Objects—the self-imposed criterions which he had not 
only accepted as a member but was in honor bound, as 
President-Founder, to be first and foremost, not only in 
enforcing upon the membership, but in himself rendering 
obedience to them. But the case of Mrs. Besant was far 
more serious. Her entire part in the ‘‘ Judge case’’ was 
a gross breach of her pledge and an equally gross in- 
fraction of the Rules and Discipline of the Esoteric Sec- 
tion which, for her, was the self-assumed canon of con- 
duct. All this quite apart from any consideration of 
the guilt or innocence of Mr. Judge of the offenses 
charged against him. In the one case the Constitution 
and Rules of the Society had provided from the first that 
charges against a member must be brought and could 
be tried only before the Branch to which the accused be- 
long. It may be remarked here, for the sake of the record, 
that the charges made against Mr. Judge were brought 
before his Branch, the Aryan Theosophical Society of 
New York City, and, by the wnanimous vote of the Coun- 
cil and members of that Branch, rejected. In the other 
case the Rules and Discipline of the School provided that 
no charge of any description should be made by any mem- 
ber aganst another, except within the School. How 
grave was Mrs. Besant’s conduct, from the standpoint 
of the School, can be seen from the following extracts 
from the Rules: 


Groundless condemnation, on hearsay, of 
others, Theosophists or not, must be refrained 
from, and charity to each other’s faults widely 
practiced among those within, as well as for 
others without, the Theosophical area. 

Repetition of statements derogatory to others 
must be avoided. 

A derogatory or slanderous statement made 
against a fellow-Theosophist, in the presence of 
a member [of the School], shall not be per- 
mitted by him to pass without protest, unless he 
knows it is true, in which case he should re- 
main silent. 


564 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


No member shall, in any circumstances, bring 
any charge of whatever nature against another 
member except [under the School procedure]. 

Suspicions as to the character of the members 
of the School are prejudicial to advancement. In 
short, any malevolent feeling, especially malice, 
envy or revenge toward any person, high or low, 
creates peculiarly obstructive conditions in the 
student’s path, and will absolutely prevent 
progress of every sort. 

No member of this School shall belong to any 
other body, association, or organization for the 
purpose of mystic study or occult training. 


We are not here arguing that these Rules from the 
‘Book of Discipline’’ of the School are true statements 
either of theory or practice; we are submitting them as 
the Code of conduct voluntarily accepted and affirmed 
by Mrs. Besant on her ‘‘solemn and sacred word of 
honor’’ as the true standard of ethics by which she would 
abide. Mrs. Besant was not only a member of the School, 
but of its Second Degree or so-called Inner Group, and 
one of its Heads, and therefore the more bound in honor 
to the most strict adherence to its time-honored practice. 
In considering the Theosophical life and conduct of all 
those connected with the Society or the Esoteric School 
therefore, they are not to be weighed, either by what 
they themselves claimed, or by what others said of them, 
or by worldly standards of action, but by their loyalty 
to, or departure from, the self-declared Objects of the 
Society, the self-assumed Obligations of the School. Only 
from this basis can their conduct be intelligently con- 
sidered, fairly measured. 

The Objects, Constitution, and Rules of the Society 
were just as binding upon H. P. Blavatsky and Wil- 
liam Q. Judge as upon any one else, and their conduct 
in that respect is the criterion of judgment on their ac- 
tions within the Society. And, with respect to the School 
of the Esoteric Section, they were, like Mrs. Besant or 
any other member, bound to act according to its precepts 


“EASTERN” AND “WESTERN” 565 


or leave it. A due understanding of these considerations 
will make the Theosophical record of H.P.B. and W.Q.J. 
stand out in solitary grandeur against the broken 
ground of total and partial failures of their colleagues 
and co-workers in the Theosophical Cause. It was their 
very allegiance to the declared Objects and democratic 
organization of the T.S., that brought them into almost 
constant conflict with others, nominal but ambitious The- 
osophists. And in the Esoteric School itself it was their 
rigid and undeviating adherence to the letter as well as 
the spirit of the ‘‘Book of Discipline’? which made H.P.B. 
unpalatable and Mr. Judge obnoxious to those whose self- 
confidence was such that they ‘‘took the law into their 
own hands’’ when the pledge and Rules interfered with 
their own ideas and desires. It was this obedience to 
the Constitution, the Rules, the Objects of the Society, 
which required Mr. Judge to raise the Constitutional 
questions involved in the attempted ‘‘trial’’ by the Ju- 
dicial Committee, and which equally debarred him from 
proffering just charges against the President-Founder 
for the latter’s flagrant breach of the Theosophical con- 
ventions, moral and legal. In the same way he was de- 
barred from making charges against Mrs. Besant before 
the Society, while in the School itself, the ‘‘Book of Dis- 
cipline’’ requires that two warnings shall be given before 
the suspension or expulsion of ‘‘the Disciple who shows 
himself whether willingly or inadvertently disloyal to 
the letter and spirit of any law.”’ 

The first of these warnings had been given to Mrs. 
Besant by Mr. Judge as the ‘‘representative of H.P.B.,’’ 
and as Co-Head of the School in September, 1893 (at the 
time of her visit to the Parliament of Religions at 
Chicago), because of her relations with Chakravarti, 
whose ‘‘Occult’’ pupil she had become, and with whom 
' she discussed her School relations, duties, and conduct, 
in addition to taking him as her Guru. The first of the 
‘‘Occult consequences’’ which befell Mrs. Besant was her 
yielding to the cajoleries of the enemies of Mr. Judge and 
sponsoring and ‘‘prosecuting’’ the charges against him. 
Immediately following the close of the Judicial Com- 


566 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


mittee meeting and the proceedings of the HKuropean Con- 
vention which was supposed to have terminated the 
‘‘Judge case’? so far as the Society was concerned, a 
meeting became necessary between Mrs. Besant and Mr. 
Judge to adjust the status of the Esoteric School, and at 
this time Mrs. Besant received her second warning, as the 
‘Book of Discipline’? made imperative. 

With regard to the School itself a joint circular letter, 
‘“strictly private and only for E.S.T. Members,’’ was 
sent out to all members over the signatures of the two 
Heads. The London copy is dated July 18, and the Amer- 
ican copy August 1, 1894. It contains the recital of the 
conditions prevailing in the School, the respective ac- 
credited positions of the two Heads at the reorganiza- 
tion of the School immediately following the death of 
H.P.B., and the agreement reached for the future con- 
duct of the E.S.T. We quote so much as is necessary 
to make clear the summary just given: 


To the members of the E.S.T.: 

You all know that during the last few months 
the activity of the E.S.T. has been to a great 
extent suspended in consequence of events which 
are matters of public notoriety. The issue of 
these is now before the T.S., and each must form 
his own judgment upon them. . . . So far as the 
T.S. is concerned, it has passed through a grave 
crisis; but it goes forward unbroken in its great 
work in the world. The E.S.T. should do the 
same. 

In the E.S.T. time is needed for the full 
restoration to a state devoid of friction, as well 
as for the revival of as perfect mutual trust and 
confidence as human nature will permit. With- 
out this full restoration and revival no two per: 
Sons can act as a single channel for spiritual in- 
fluences. 

But we have our fundamental unity and 
channel in the Masters and in their mouthpiece 


“EASTERN” AND “WESTERN” 567 


—Our Teacher in this School—our recognized 
Head, H.P.B. .*. On this the School was 
founded and rests today. We will proceed under 
the arrangements made and left by her at the 
time of her passing away. She declared that 
William Q. Judge was the Antaskarana, or chan- 
nel for the Americans, and made him under 
herself the sole authority in America by the fol- 
lowing Documents. 


Then follow the copies of the Document of December 
14, 1888, and the Document of October 23, 1889, as origi- 
nally contained in the circulars of May 27, 1891 and 
August, 1893. They are as follows: 


Ksoreric T. S. SEctTion 


As Head of the Esoteric Section of the The- 
osophical Society, I hereby declare that Wil- 
liam Q. Judge of New York, U.S. A., in virtue 
of his character of a chela of thirteen years’ 
standing and of the trust and confidence reposed 
in him, is my only representative for said Sec- 
tion in America, and he is the sole channel 
through whom will be sent and received all com- 
munications between the members of said Sec- 
tion and myself, and to him full faith, confidence, 
and credit in that regard are to be given. Done 
at London, this fourteenth day of December, 
1888, and in the fourteenth year of the The- 
osophical Society. 

(Seal) af, P; Buavatsxy. .° 


Lonpon, October 23d, 1889. 

... The Esoterie Section and its life in the 
U.S.A. depend upon W.Q.J. remaining its agent 
anad what he now is. The day W.Q.J. resigns, 
H.P.B. will be virtually dead for the Americans. 
W.Q.J. is the Antaskarana between the two 
Manas (es), the American thought and the 


568 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


Indian,—or rather the trans-Himalayan esoteric 
knowledge. Dia. 
HiPiB awe 
P. S. W.Q.J. had better show and impress 
this on the mind of all those 1t may concern. 


The circular continues: 


She [H.P.B.] made the then Inner Group 
the Council, under herself, for the remaining 
part of the School, and shortly before her de- 
parture made Annie Besant its chief officer, as 
Chief Secretary of the I[nner] G[roup] and 
Recorder of the Teachings, by the following: 


ES. 
ORDER 
I hereby appoint in the name of the Master, 
Annie Besant Chief Secretary of the Inner 
Group of the Hsoteric Section and Recorder of 
the Teachings. 
Apri 1, 1891. Heri Bate: 


The circular then goes on: 


Thus it was when she departed. 

Out of these two appointments was constituted 
(see Council Minutes, 1891) the Dual Headship 
in 1891 for the management of the School, an 
arrangement that has not on the whole at any 
time worked well in practice. At the present 
time the only way to preserve the E.S.T. un- 
broken and give time for the restoration of the 
mutual trust referred to and to smooth out fric- 
tion is by returning to the above arrangements. 
We remain throughout the world the one School 
—‘‘the throbbing heart of the T.S.’’—founded 
by H.P.B., recognizing her as our Teacher and 
the Masters as our foundation, having in com- 
mon her Headship, the Instructions she left, and 
the Rules of the School. ... 


“EASTEKN” AND “WESTERN” 569 


It is to be noted (1) that the above written documents 
of H.P.B.’s were the ones upon which was effected the 
reorganization of the School after the death of H.P.B.; 
(2) that these same documents were referred to in the 
joint circular to the E.S. in August, 1893, at the time 
of the suspension of Messrs. Old and Edge; (8) that as 
just shown they are again reiterated as the basis of the 
agreement reached in London in July, 1894, following the 
‘¢ Judicial Committee’’ Enquiry. All these circulars were 
signed by Mrs. Besant, and for the most part written 
by her, including the one of July 18, from which we have 
been quoting. There are thus three solemn assevera- 
tions by her to all members of the School as to what 
were, on the authority of H.P.B., the respective posi-. 
tions and relations of herself and Mr. Judge—the last 
of these asseverations the most important of all, from: 
the standpoint of the light they shed on Mrs. Besant’s 
character, for it shows, like her Statement before the 
European Convention, a complete about face on the sub- 
ject of the charges against Mr. Judge. It shows out 
of her own mouth as well, and for the third time, that the 
position accorded her by H.P.B. was in fact that of 
‘‘Secretary and Recorder,’’ not ‘‘Successor of H.P.B.,’’ 
as she claimed less than a year later, and has since main- 
tained, as we shall see. 

How Mrs. Besant fulfilled her duties as Recorder of 
the Teachings is shown in many ways, but most glaringly 
by two standing witnesses: the ‘‘Third and Revised Hdi- 
tion’’ of the ‘‘Secret Doctrine,’’ and the spurious ‘‘ Third 
Volume’”’ of the ‘‘Secret Doctrine’’ issued by her in 1897. 
Any reader can compare the Original Edition of the 
‘‘Secret Doctrine’? with the Third and Revised Edition, 
edited by Mrs. Besant and Mr. Mead. Despite the as- 
surances contained in their Preface, the comparison will 
show more than forty thousand changes from the text 
of the Original Edition, ranging all the way from mere 
trivialities, through important alterations, to deliberate 
suppression of all those paragraphs of the Original Edi- 
tion of two volumes which showed unmistakably what the 
genuine Third Volume (already, with the Fourth Volume, 


570 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


completed by H.P.B. before her death) consisted of. 
The utter disappearance without a trace left behind, of 
the genuine Third and Fourth Volumes of the ‘‘Secret 
Doctrine’’ remains to this day an unrevealed mystery. 
And as to Mrs. Besant’s spurious ‘‘Third Volume,’’ her 
own Preface alone is ample to convince any careful stu- 
dent, able to sift statements, that it is nothing more than 
a hodgepodge of rejected manuscripts, ‘‘literary re- 
mains,’’ private papers originally issued to the H.S.T. 
during the lifetime of H.P.B., and largely rejected manu- 
script of the first volume of the Original Edition. For it 
is, or should be, well known to every Theosophical student 
that, as repeatedly announced in the earlier volumes of 
The Theosophist, H.P.B.’s original intention was that the 
‘‘Secret Doctrine,’’ should be a revised edition of ‘‘Isis 
Unveiled,’’ and in pursuance of that intention she wrote 
one entire volume, prior to 1886, when returning confi- 
dence and trust in her by the mass of members of the 
T.S. enabled her to enlarge her plan and write an en- 
tirely new work. A copy of that early first volume was 
sent by H.P.B. to Subba Row for criticism and com- 
ment. Followed his breach with H.P.B. as already nar- 
rated. He refused to do anything with it. It is matter 
from that rejected manuscript which is incorporated in 
Mrs. Besant’s ‘‘Third Volume.’’ And—notable phe- 
nomenon—the fact is admitted by Mrs. Besant herself in 
The Theosophist for March, 1922—twenty-five years 
after the event. Why did she concoct this spurious 
‘‘Third Volume’’ in the first instance? And why did she 
in 1922 let slip the truth which in 1897 she not only sup- 
pressed, but replaced by an untruth? The answer to the 
first query can be seen by reading her article ‘‘ Hast and 
West’’ in Lucifer for May, 1895, written during the 
throes of the recrudescent ‘‘Judge case.’’ She there 
states in discussing the celebrated ‘‘Prayag Letter’’ or 
‘‘Message to Some Brahmins,’’ to the consideration of 
which we shall soon come,” that the message, which Mr. 


7See Chapter XXXITI. 


“EASTERN” AND “WESTERN” 571 


Judge had declared to be genuine, is in her opinion 
spurious. She says, after giving her reasons: 


These facts seemed to me to necessitate the 
rejection of the letter as beg wm flagrant con- 
tradiction with H.P.B.’s teachings, and it is 
certainly no more supported by the third volume 
of the ‘‘Secret Doctrine,’’ which was placed in 
my hands by H.P.B., than by the other two. 
Why so wild an assertion, which will be proved 
false by the forthcoming publication of the third 
volume, should be made, I do not know. 


Neither the ‘‘facts’’ (reasons) alleged by Mrs. Besant 
for rejecting the ‘‘ Message to Some Brahmins,’’ nor its 
‘‘contradiction with the teachings of H.P.B.,’’ are re- 
motely suggested, even by inference, by anything con- 
tained in Mrs. Besant’s ‘‘ Third Volume’? nor is the ‘‘wild 
assertion’’ of Mr. Judge that the message is true in sub- 
stance in any way impugned by any of the writings of 
H.P.B., the matter of the ‘‘Third Volume’’ included—as 
any one can verify for himself by reference to the con- 
tents of the ‘‘Third Volume”’ itself. But Mrs. Besant’s 
article ‘‘ Hast and West,’’ and her following article, ‘‘The 
Prayag Letter,’’* were written in self-defense and self- 
extenuation. ‘‘Hast and West’’ contains, inter alia, an- 
other astounding illustration of Mrs. Besant’s lack of 
trustworthiness, for she says: 


Instead of denouncing ‘‘faith im the gods’’ as 
a superstition, [the substance of the ‘‘Prayag 
Message’’] H.P.B. professed it... . 


We ask any student of Theosophy to consider whether 
misrepresentation could reach to greater audacity than 
is shown in this single sentence? 

In Mrs. Besant’s ‘‘ Third Volume”’ are incorporated the 
private papers originally issued by H.P.B. to the E.S., 
and in reprinting these Mrs. Besant not only falsely 


*See Lucifer, for July 15, 1895, Volume 16, pp. 375-9, for ‘‘ The Prayag 
Letter,’’ and pp. 185-94, May, 1895, for ‘‘ East and West.’’ 


572 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


declared them to be a part of the ‘‘third volume of the 
Secret Doctrine which was placed in my hands by 
H.P.B.,’’ not only broke the seventh clause of her solemn 
pledge as a member of the Esoteric School, but corrupted 
them by more than twelve hundred alterations, perver- 
sions, suppressions, and substitutions of text. 

Why did she let the truth escape her lips twenty-five 
years later, unless it be that she had forgotten her origt- 
nal statements in a fresh exigency im her career? Her 
remarks in The Theosophist for March, 1922, bear no 
other rational construction when read in connection with 
those in the April number immediately following. She 
did the same thing in regard to this very ‘‘Prayag Mes- 
sage,’’ as we shall see very soon. It will have long since 
been noted by the careful reader of this History, that 
the unavoidable impeachments of Col. Oleott’s, Mr. Sin- 
nett’s, and Mrs. Besant’s testimony on controversial 
questions of teaching and of fact, have been in every 
ease out of their own mouths and those of their own 
witnesses. An exhaustive study and comparison of their 
own writings and actions has forced us, as we believe 
it will force any student, to the conviction that their 
evidence is utterly untrustworthy on any subject in which 
their self-interest was aroused. Not even Eusebius and 
Constantine in their successful efforts to bend the teach- 
ings and the influence of Christianity to their personal, 
theological and political purposes showed such ethical 
blindness coupled with intellectual ability to mislead those 
who trusted them. 

Returning to the circular of date at London July 18, 
and New York August 1, signed by Mrs. Besant and 
Mr. Judge as Co-Heads of the E.S.T.: it possesses great 
interest and value, not merely to the historian but to all 
students of Theosophy seeking to unravel the baffling 
mysteries of the present and the past. First, this circu- 
lar confirms and reaffirms the accuracy of the original 
Minutes of May 27, 1891, the reorganization of the School 
then effected, the status of Mrs. Besant and Mr. Judge, 
and the basis and evidence on which that status was 
established. Second, this confirmation and reaffirmation 


“EASTERN” AND “WESTERN” Sie 


was made after the ‘‘Enquiry into the charges against 
W. Q. Judge’’ by the Judicial Committee; after Mrs. 
Besant had read her Statement to the European Conven- 
tion, and after it had, at her request, acted as a ‘‘Jury’’ 
to ‘‘dispose of the whole matter,’’ and had so disposed 
of it. Certainly if the Statement of Mrs. Besant and 
this Circular signed by her are to be construed as the 
sincere testimony and good faith declarations of an hon- 
est witness under conditions the most solemn possible, 
then they give the lie, direct and irrefutable, to her sub- 
sequent asseverations on the same subject matters dur- 
ing the heat and fury of her second onset on the name 
and fame of Mr. Judge. On the other hand, if her subse- 
quent affirmations are to be taken as true, they show Mrs. 
Besant in the role of a bearer of faise witness in July, 
1894. Hither point of view shows Mrs. Besant to have 
been deaf, dumb, and blind to all moral sense, for her 
two sets of statements covering the same matters at 
issue are beyond any possibility of reconciliation. The 
second attack on Mr. Judge must now be traced. 


CHAPTHRR XXXIi 
‘SWESTMINSTER GAZETTE’? ATTACKS THE SOCIETY 


Mr. Judge left London July 18, 1894, to return to 
New York; Col. Olcott, after a brief tour of England, 
Scotland and Ireland, departed for India. Mr. Bertram 
Keightley also returned to India to resume his duties 
as General Secretary of the Indian Section, and to be 
near Chakravarti, whose pupil he had become—and 
has since remained to this date. Mrs. Besant at once 
set sail for Australia to form Branches and estab- 
lish an Australasian Section of the T.S. under the carte 
blanche authority given her by the President-Founder 
in his ‘‘Eixecutive Notice’’ of April preceding, the text 
of which was given in a former chapter.t' She also bore 
with her from the European Section Convention just 
held, its authority for her to represent the Huropean 
Section as its delegate to the ‘‘Adyar Parliament’’ to 
be held in December following. 

Mr. Walter R. Old remained in England, while his 
associate in the article ‘‘Theosophic Free Thought,’’ Mr. 
Sydney V. Edge, continued to serve as Sub-Kditor of 
The Theosophist. Mr. Old had judiciously retired from 
London to a near-by town during the ‘‘Enquiry,’’ but 
kept in close touch with the progress of events at the 
hearing before the Judicial Committee and the subse- 
quent session of the European Convention devoted to the 
‘‘ Judge case.’’ Displeased by Mrs. Besant’s too close 
coupling of his name and Mr. Edge’s with her state- 
ment before the Convention that ‘‘for some years past 
persons inspired largely by hatred for Mr. Judge, and 
persons inspired by hatred for the Theosophical Society 
and for all that it represents, have circulated a mass of 

*See Chapter XXIX, 

574 


ATTACK OF “WESTMINSTER GAZETTE” 575 


accusations against him,’’ Mr. Old, who knew that Col. 
Oleott, Chakravarti, Countess Wachtmeister, and Mrs. 
Besant were equally in the mire with himself, was not 
only aggrieved, but in a quandary as well. To break 
with these intimate friends and associates by exposing 
the whole truth was to bring ruin to them and himself 
instead of to Mr. Judge. To remain silent was to assume 
the whole burden of the joint iniquity himself. He there- 
fore took the matter up with Col. Olcott. The result was 
a formal letter addressed by him to Col. Olcott as ‘‘Presi- 
dent-Founder.’’ This was published by Mrs. Besant 
in the August, 1894, Lucifer, the same number which 
contained the ‘‘Truth and Occultism’’ circular and the 
text of the ‘‘Neutrality’’ report on the ‘‘ Judge case.’’ 
Mrs. Besant published Mr. Old’s letter with this prefa- 
tory statement in brackets: 


Colonel Olcott asks us to publish the follow- 
ing. We do so, omitting a passage to which we 
cannot give publicity. 


The text of Mr. Old’s letter will be found in Luctfer, 
Vol. 14, pp. 463-4. We give a few of its unconsciously 
telltale sentences. He says to Col. Olcott (italics pre- 
ceding and following being ours) : 


As you were associated with me in your ca- 
pacity of Editor of The Theosophist at the time 
of the publication of the joint article by Mr. 
Kdge and myself, you will be able to speak from 
personal knowledge as to our attitude in this 
connection. . . . Annie Besant would, I think, 
admit that the text of her statement is open to 
misinterpretation in this particular instance. 
The association of the two paragraphs referred 
to would certainly lead to a conclusion which, I 
think, she would be the last to desire. 


There the matter rested until October following, all 
the recent protagonists and their followers of every 
degree being apparently busy in renewed Theosophi- 


576 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


cal activities and in healing the sores caused by the late 
‘‘Judge case.’? Under cover of these activities, how- 
ever, the campaign against Mr. Judge was kept up by 
word of mouth and through private correspondence, by 
Mrs. Besant, by Col. Olcott, by Countess Wachtmeister, 
and by Mr. Sinnett, as shown by subsequent events and 
admissions of the several parties. 

In October, 1894, the London Westminster Gazette be- 
gan the publication of a series of articles by Kdmund 
Garrett, entitled ‘‘Isis Very Much Unveiled; the Story 
of the Great Mahatma Hoax.’’ This series, the editorial 
articles which accompanied it and the printed corre- 
spondence, ran on for two months without cessation. All 
former Theosophical storms rolled into one were but as 
a barometric fall to the monsoon which it presages, in 
comparison with the havoe wrought in the Theosophical 
Society’s ranks by this publication. It was immediately 
gotten out in book form by the Westminster Gazette, and 
the book had a tremendous circulation. Some one paid 
for sending copies to all Lodges of the Theosophical 
Society. 

Mr. Garrett was an exceedingly clever and brilliant 
writer. No ‘‘trial by newspaper’’ ever had an abler 
advocate for the plaintiff. Moreover, Mr. Garrett was 
plainly honest. He concealed neither the sources of his 
information, his own detestation of Theosophy and its 
Society, nor that his object was to destroy what he 
detested. 

Mr. Garrett was a personal friend of Mr. Walter R. 
Old, and it was Mr. Old who inspired him to write his 
series of articles and who supplied most of the docu- 
mentary matter employed by Mr. Garrett with rare skill 
in making his case. Mr. Old was the only one of the 
numerous dramatis personae whom Mr. Garrett’s serio- 
comedy treated with respect. All the others were tar- 
gets for his keen wit, Mrs. Besant most of all. Colonel 
Olcott was mercilessly lampooned, H.P.B. and Mr. Judge 
held forth as a couple of able tricksters and charlatans 
who had made dupes and fools of Mrs. Besant, Col. Olcott, 


ATTACK OF “WESTMINSTER GAZETTE” 577 


and the rest, with bogus phenomena and bogus messages 
from equally bogus Mahatmas. 

It was clearly evident from the documents used by Mr. 
Garrett that Mr. Old had been aided by both Col. Olcott 
and Mrs. Besant, for some of the papers cited could 
not have been otherwise obtained. This is practically 
admitted by Mr. Old in a letter to Lucifer, which will be 
found in its issue for December 15, 1894, Volume 15, pp. 
337-8—and this despite his denial of the fact in the same 
letter. We quote, italics ours: 


The published facts are just those which came 
into the evidence of Col. Olcott and Bertram 
Keightley, and upon which the charges were 
based and action taken; and they are, moreover, 
part of a body of evidence, which, from the out- 
set, it was decided to publish. I take the whole 
Karma of my own action, and I affirm that it is 
wholly independent of connivance or instigation 
on the part of anyone. 


At the same time Mr. Old addressed a letter to the 
Westmiuster Gazette, which was published, and which 
was also included in the matter of Mr. Garrett’s book. 
We quote so much as is necessary to establish or con- 
firm the links already given, italicized portions being, as 
before, our own emphasis of Mr. Old’s words: 


The writer of those articles has named me, 
quite correctly, as having taken the first step 
in forcing an inquiry into the case against Mr. 
Judge. For this act of mine, I was suspended 
from my membership in the Esoteric Section, un- 
der the authority of the joint signatures of 
William Q. Judge and Annie Besant, Outer 
Heads of the E.S.T., and my name was dishon- 
ourably mentioned before the members of the 
K.S. among whom I numbered many an old 
friend and colleague. . . . After her official ac- 
tion in suspending me from membership Mrs. 


578 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


Besant was, of course, bound to hear my justifi- 
cation. This happened at Adyar in the winter 
of 1893. Mrs. Besant’s first remark to me after 
reading the case and examining the documents 
was, ‘‘You were perfectly justified by the facts 
before you.”’ 

In the presence of the president-founder Col. 
Olcott, Mrs. Besant, Countess Wachtmeister, 
Mr. E. T. Sturdy, together with Mr. Edge and 
myself, it was decided that the task of officially 
bringing the charges should devolve upon Mrs. 
Besant, and that the whole of the evidence should 
be published. .. . 


Mr. Old goes on to tell of Mrs. Besant’s formal de- 
mand to Col. Olcott for the investigation, Col. Olcott’s 
official letters to Mr. Judge, and the Judicial Committee 
meeting, ‘‘with the abortive and disingenuous result al- 
ready known.’’ He then continues: 


But what of the ‘‘full publication of all the 
details?’’ What of us Theosophists who had 
brought these charges against Mr. Judge? Were 
we not left in the position of persons who had 
brought charges without proving them? The 
position was one I felt to be intolerable. 


It never occurred to Mr. Old, any more than to Mrs. 
Besant and the others, that there was anything ‘‘intol- 
erable’’ in spreading privately and publicly calumnies 
dignified as ‘‘charges’’ and ‘‘evidences,’’ even in the 
ordinary human sense of decency, let alone as Fellows 
in a Society whose First Object was brotherhood, and as 
members of an Esoteric School pledged ‘‘never to listen 
without protest to any evil thing said of a Brother The- 
osophist and to abstain from condemning others.’’ But 
when publicity played the spotlight upon the authors 
of the ‘‘mass of accusations,’’ then, indeed, the position 
became ‘‘intolerable’’—first to Mr. Old, and then to Mrs. 
Besant and Col. Olcott. 


ATTACK OF “WESTMINSTER GAZETTE” 579 


After arguing that it was his ‘‘duty’’ to supply am- 
munition to Mr. Garrett, whom he calls a ‘‘Philistine,’’ 
in order that ‘‘a system of truth’’ should not be ‘raised 
from a fabric of fraud,’’ Mr. Old says: 


It will, therefore, be clear to all members of 
the T.S. and the public generally that I am re- 
sponsible for the facts occurring in Mr. Garrett’s 
articles only so far as they apply to the charges 
aganst Mr. Judge. ...I1 do not lose sight of 
the fact that, however mistaken or misled many 
of the Theosophical Society may be, as regards 
the traditional ‘‘ Mahatmas’’ and their supposed 
‘‘communications,’’ they are nevertheless as 
sincere in their beliefs as many of their more 
orthodox fellows, and have as much right to re- 
spectful consideration. I particularly regret 
that Mrs..Besant should have been placed in this 
awkward public position by the present 
exposure. 

Of Madame Blavatsky I speak as I knew her. 
At the time I made her acquaintance she had 
forsworn all ‘‘phenomenalism,’’ so that I never 
saw any occult phenomena at any time. I be- 
lieve that for her [these italics are Mr. Old’s] 
the Mahatmas existed, and I believe she thought 
them to be embodied personalities. Colonel OI- 
cott has another theory, and others have their 
own. ... Finally I have been through the The- 
osophical Society with my eyes open, and for 
more than five years have been, officially and un- 
officially, as fully ‘‘in the Theosophical Society’’ 
as one can well be; and while I am certain that 
many are fully convinced of the truth of their 
own beliefs in these matters, I am also fully as- 
sured that a large number are in the position of 
persons self-decewed, who have unfortunately 
committed themselves too far to review thew 
position without almost disastrous consequences 
to themselves and others. 


580 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


Applying this last italicized clause of Mr. Old’s, the 
question arises, Was it H.P.B. and Mr. Judge who had 
thus committed themselves, or Mr. Old and his asso- 
ciates in the campaign against Mr. Judge, which speedily 
became of necessity a campaign against H.P.B.? The 
further question arises, What was Mr. Old doing in 
the Theosophical Society and particularly in its Eso- 
teric School, for five years, with the views, expressed 
and implied, just given? Or did these views arise in 
him after being suspended from the E.S. for violation 
of his pledge and the Rules? Mr. Old follows with this 
statement: 


I have the fullest conviction . . . that no such 
thing as evidence of the existence (in an or- 
dinary sense) of the Mahatmas, or of their 
connexion with the T.S. as a body or with its 
members individually, is obtainable by a person 
pursuing ordinary methods of investigation. 


The fact itself is a truism to any man of the most 
casual information and common sense, and was repeat- 
edly affirmed by H.P.B. and Mr. Judge; but if Mr. Old 
himself had this conviction, how could he know that 
H.P.B. or Mr. Judge, or anyone else, was, or was not, 
in communication with these Mahatmas, and what be- 
comes of his ‘‘mass of accusations’’? 

We think the inference is irresistible that Mr. Old, 
Mrs. Besant, Col. Olcott, and the rest, suffering the 
stings of wounded pride and vanity, pricked at being 
‘‘hoist with their own petard’’ by the outcome of the 
“*Judge case,’’ and convinced by his conduct during the 
preceding months that he would make no counter-attacks 
upon them, whatever they might do, proceeded, the one 
publicly, the others at first privately, to defend and ex- 
tenuate themselves in the reaction that followed the 
London Enquiry, by intimating that they ‘‘could an’ 
they would’’ produce evidence that would damn, and 
doubly damn, Mr. Judge. It seems never to have oc- 
curred to any of them that ex parte accusations, private 


ATTACK OF “WESTMINSTER GAZETTE” 581 


or public, or ‘‘trial by the newspapers’’ was in any way 
disreputable, or that an accused person, even one 
‘‘ouilty’’ of suspected ‘‘messages from the Masters,’’ 
was entitled to the presumption-of innocence, and freedom 
from the circulation of ‘‘accusations’’ by all honorable 
persons, until proven guilty. Nowhere, in any of the 
immense mass of printed matter poured out by his de- 
famers, is there one solitary hint that any of his ac- 
cusers ever took the straightforward course of going 
direct to Mr. Judge with their alleged ‘‘evidences’’ and 
asking him to explain and rebut what seemed to them 
questionable. 

What did Mr. Judge do? He did what he had to do— 
nothing in so far as the Theosophical Society was con- 
cerned; in the Esoteric School, that which the ‘‘Book of 
Discipline’’ made obligatory upon him, and which, ac- 
cording to his own declaration, was also directly ‘‘By 
Master’s Order.’’ In the circular letter with that head- 
ing’, issued by him to all members of the Esoteric School 
under date of November 3, 1894, he deposed Mrs. Besant 
from her Co-Headship in the School. 

In this circular Mr. Judge says that he has ‘‘put off 
writing it since March, 1894,’’ although ‘‘it then seemed 
to me as necessary as it is now,’’ but that he was ‘‘di- 
rected to wait for the conclusion of the matter of the 
charges made against’’ him. He says he has since seen 
the wisdom of the directions to ‘‘wait,’’ because had he 
written it while the ‘‘charges’’ were still undisposed of 
the Theosophical Society would have been ‘‘mixed up’’ 
with the troubles in the Esoteric Section which had no 
official relation to the Society. ‘‘We have now,’’ he 
proceeds, ‘‘to deal with the E.8.T. and with our duty 
to it and to each other; and among those others, to Mrs. 
Besant.’’ | 

He then briefly rehearses the story of the foundation 
of the E.S.T., its history, the Inner Group, the reorgani- 
zation of the School following the death of H.P.B.— 
all of which has already been told in detail in the course 
of this History. He makes public to the members the 
fact that the actual formation of the School originated 


582 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


with himself, in a letter to H.P.B. in May, 1887, a year 
and a half before the public announcement, and that the 
foundation followed the lines suggested by him. He also 
advised the members that he himself had never taken 
the School or Inner Group pledges, having made his 
own vows in 1874 direct to the Masters—all of which is 
borne out by recorded public and private statements by 
H.P.B. He then speaks of Mrs. Besant as follows: 


Mrs. Annie Besant has been but five years in 
this work, and not all of that time engaged in 
occult study and practice. Her abilities as a 
writer and speaker are rare and high for either 
man or woman, her devotion and sincerity of 
purpose cannot be doubted. She gave many 
years of her life to the cause of the oppressed 
as she understood it: against the dread blight 
of materialistic belief in herself, she worked 
thus without hope in a future life and in every 
way proved her altruistic purpose and aim. 
Since 1889 she has done great service to the T.S. 
and devoted herself to it. But all this does not 
prevent a sincere person from making errors in 
Occultism, especially when he, as Mrs. Besant 
did, tries to force himself along the path of prac- 
tical work in that field. Sincerity does not of 
itself confer knowledge, much less wisdom. 
H.P.B. .:. and all the history of occultism says 
that seven years of training and trial at the very 
least are needed. Mrs. Besant has had but five. 
Mistakes made by such a disciple will ultimately 
be turned to the advantage of the movement, and 
their immediate results will be mitigated to the 
person making them, provided they are not in- 
spired by an evil intention on the person’s part. 
And I wish it to be clearly understood that Mrs. 
Besant has had herself no conscious evil inten- 
tion; she has simply gone for awhile outside the 
line of her Guru H.P.B. .-., begun work with 
others, and fallen under their influence. We 


ATTACK OF “WESTMINSTER GAZETTE” 583 


should not push her farther down, but neither 
will the true sympathy we have blind our eyes 
so as to let her go on, to the detriment of the 
whole movement. 


Mr. Judge discusses in extenso the recent charges and 
troubles in the Society and the School, from the stand- 
point of the Second Section, treating their real origin, 
their strategy and tactics, as having their source in the 
everlasting struggle of human evolution—the contend- 
ing forces of the Light and Dark sides of Nature and 
Being. He concludes this part of his narrative by say- 
ing that the difficulty focalized anew ‘‘when in January 
or February [1894] Annie Besant finally lent herself un- 
consciously to the plot which I detail herein; but prior 
to that (from August, 1893), those managing that plot 
had begun to work upon her.’’ He places the root of the 
plot in India and says that the opposing forces to the 
Theosophical Movement,— 


... have succeeded in influencing ‘certain 
Brahmins in India through race-pride and ambi- 
tion, so that these, for their own advantage, de- 
sire to control and manage the T.S. through 
some agent and also through the .8.T. They 
of course have sought, if possible, to use one of 
our body, and have picked out Mrs. Besant as 
a possible vehicle. One object of the plot is to 
stop the current of information and influence 
started by H.P.B. .-. by deflecting thought back 
to modern India. To accomplish this it is abso- 
lutely necessary to tear down the tradition clus- 
tering around the work of H.P.B. .-. ; her pow- 
ers and knowledge have to be derogated from; 
her right to speak for the Masters has to be im- 
pugned; those Masters have to be made a cold 
abstraction; her staunch friends who wish to see 
the real work and objects carried on have to be 
put in such a position as to be tied hand and foot 
so as not to be able to interfere with the plans 


584 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


of the plotters; it has to be shown that H.P.B. .-. 
was a fraud and a forger also. ‘’hese men are 
not the Chelas of our Masters. 

The name of the person who was worked upon 
so as to, if possible, use him as a minor agent 
... for the influencing of Mrs. Besant is Gyan- 
endra N. Chakravarti, a Brahmin of Allahabad, 
India, who came to America on our invitation 
to the Religious Parliament in 1893. At the first 
sincerely desirous of helping the race by bring- 
ing to the American people the old truths of his 
forefathers, he nevertheless, like so many be- 
fore him, permitted ambition to take subtle root 
in his heart. Fired with the ambition of taking 
position in the world as a Guru, though doubt- 
less believing himself still a follower of the 
White Brotherhood, he is no longer in our lines; 
on the contrary his mediumship and weakness 
leave him a vehicle for other influences also. 


Mr. Judge then goes on to tell of a message in regard 
to himself received by Chakravarti, in which the Master 
commended Mr. Judge and his work, and says: ‘‘I in- 
formed Mrs. Besant in September, 1893, of the mes- 
sage.’’ This message was the one referred to by Mr. 
Judge in his statement before the European Convention 
in July, 1894, as being undisputed by Mrs. Besant. The 
circular continues: 


But afterwards, when Mr. Chakravarti’s work 
under me was finished, and when ambition 
aroused through that visit, had grown strong, 
he tried to destroy the effect of that message 
on Mrs. Besant’s mind by cunningly construing 
it to mean that, although I was thus in all 
things commended, the last part of it contra- 
dicted the first and supported the charge of 
forgery and lying. This is madness when not de- 
liberate. ... She accepted the cunning con- 
struction, permitted herself to think that the 
Master could commend me for all the work I had 


ATTACK OF “WESTMINSTER GAZETTE” 


done, of which the pretended acts of forgery 
would be a part, and at the same time send me a 
delusive message, part of which was to be im- 
mediately used as condemnation if brought for- 
ward by me. If I was guilty of what I was ac- 
cused, then Master would be shown as conniving 
at forgery and lying—a most impossible thing. 
The only other possibility is that Mr. Chakra- 
varti and I ‘‘got up’’ the message. But he and 
Mrs. Besant have admitted its genuineness, al- 
though she is perfectly unable herself to decide 
on its genuineness or falsity. But further, Mrs. 
Besant admitted to several that she had seen the 
Master himself come and speak through my body 
while I was perfectly conscious. And still fur- 
ther, H.P.B. .-. gave me in 1889 the Master’s 
picture, on which he put this message: ‘‘T'o my 
dear and loyal colleague, W. Q. Judge.”’ 

Now, then, either I am bringing you a true 
message from the Master, or the whole T.S. and 
H..8.T. is a lie, in the ruins of which must be 
buried the names of H.P.B. .-. and the Masters. 
All these stand together or they fall together. 
Let it be proved that H.P.B. .-. is a liar anda 
fraud, and I will abandon the T.S. and all its 
belongings; but until so proved I will remain 
where I was put. Lastly, as final proof of the 
delusions worked through this man and his 
friends I will mention this: Many years ago 
(in 1881) the Masters sent to the Allahabad 
Brahmins (the Prayag T.S.) a letter which was 
delivered by H.P.B. .-. to Mr. A. P. Sinnett, who 
handed a copy over to them, keeping the original. 
It dealt very plainly with the Brahmans. This 
letter the Brahmans do not like, and Mr. Chak- 
ravarti tried to make me think it was a pious 
fraud by H.P.B. .-. He succeeded with Mrs. 
Besant in this, so that since she met him she has 
on various occasions said she thought it was a 
fraud by H.P.B. .-., made up entirely, and not 


585 


586 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


from the Master.... Only delusion would 
make Mrs. Besant take this position; deliberate 
intention makes the others do it. It is an issue 
that may not be evaded, for if that letter be a 
fraud then all the rest sent through our old 
teacher, ... are the same. I shall rest on that 
issue; we all rest on it. 

Mrs. Besant was then made to agree with these 
people under the delusion that it was approved 
by the Masters. She regarded herself as their 
servant. It was against the E.8.T. rules. When 
the rule is broken it is one’s duty to leave the 
EK.8S.T. ... Mrs. Besant was put in such a 
frightful position that while she was writing me 
most kindly and working with me she was all the 
time thinking that I was a forger and that I had 
blasphemed the Master. She was made to con- 
ceal from me, when here, her thoughts about the 
intended charges. ... Not until the time was 
ripe did she tell me, in her letter in January 
[1894] from India, asking me to resign from the 
K..S.T. and the T.S. offices, saying that if I did 
and would confess guilt all would be forgiven and 
everyone would work with me as usual.... 
She was induced to believe that the Master was 
endorsing the persecution, that he was order- 
ing her to do what she did... . 

In all this Chakravarti was her guide, with 
others. .. .? 

Weare all therefore face to face with the ques- 
tion whether we will abide by Masters and their 
Messenger on the one hand, or by the disrupting 
forces that stand on the other, willing to destroy 
our great mission if we will but give them the 
opportunity. : 


It seems to us that in all the foregoing Mr. Judge was 
endeavoring to do by the E.S.T. what, in his circular 
7During this same period—1893-5—Mrs. Besant had joined Mr. Sinnett’s 


coterie and was also receiving ‘‘messages’’ through Mr. Leadbeater, at 
the time Mr, Sinnett’s ‘‘ psychie.’’ 


ATTACK OF “WESTMINSTER GAZETTE” 587 


of March 15, 1894, he endeavored to do by the members 
of the T.S.: To strip the difficulties to their abstract 
root and show the real issues at stake. Two views pre- 
vailed in the Society at large and in the E.S.T. with 
regard to Theosophy, to Masters, and to their Messenger. 
The view held out by H.P.B. and consistently main- 
tained by her and by Mr. Judge was that Theosophy is 
a body of Knowledge, ‘‘ancient, constant and eternal,’’ 
as the ‘‘Bhagavad-Gita’’ has it, not subject to change, 
not an ‘‘evolving system of thought’’; Masters the Cus- 
todians of that Knowledge, and H.P.B. their direct 
Agent in the world, the Society, and the E.8.T. On 
this basis and the simple proposition of falsus m wno, 
falsus in omnibus, Theosophy, H.P.B. and Masters, to- 
gether with all those who accept that view, stand or fall 
together. This is the view argued at length by H.P.B. 
in the extract given in the last chapter, culminating in 
the proposition that if a single one of her ‘‘messages’’ 
were found false, if Masters were found winking at a 
single fraud perpetrated by her in their name, she and 
they were capable of unlimited repetitions of the same 
fraud. Her formal documents in regard to Mr. Judge— 
in the Coues case, in the Second Preliminary Memo- 
randum, in that of December 14, 1888, of October 23, 
1889, in her Notice of August 9, 1890, in her first and last 
Letters to the Conventions of the American Section for 
1888 and 1891—not to speak of numerous private letters 
to ‘‘doubting Thomases’’ and loyal students, all estab- 
lish one and the same fact: that she held out Mr. Judge 
to the students in the same light that the Masters held 
her out, her authorized Agent and ‘‘direct representa- 
tive,’? as she was that of the Masters. And that this 
was originally the view of Mrs. Besant, both in re- 
spect to H.P.B. and Mr. Judge, has been abundantly 
shown; the first by her article in Lucifer for December, 
1890, ‘‘H.P.B. and the Theosophical Society’’ and her 
article in Lucifer for October, 1891, ‘‘Theosophy and 
Christianity’’; the second in her signature to the Min- 
utes of the E.S. Meeting of May 27, 1891, and, after the 
‘‘Judge case,’’ by her signature to the circular of July 


588 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


18, and August 1, 1894, not to speak of her repeated state- 
ments publicly in Lucifer. 

Those who espoused the opposing view believed in 
Masters, in many shades of belief and understanding; 
in the Theosophical Society as the vehicle of Their work; 
in H.P.B. as a human instrument of Their teaching, 
medium, psychic, chela of some degree or another, some- 
times speaking on Their account and sometimes on her 
own, her writings therefore to be dissected and divided 
by each according to his judgment, as hers or her Mas- 
ters; therefore in her Theosophy as being no different 
or other than their own—her understanding and inter- 
pretation to be accepted or rejected, improved and ex- 
tended, as each might esteem himself capable and per- 
suade others to the like opinion. They saw no incon- 
geruity in consulting other mediums, or in developing 
mediumship and psychism in themselves along any lines 
that seemed profitable; in according the messages thus 
received the same treatment of acceptance or rejection, 
in whole or in part, as they accorded to H.P.B. and to 
each other. Thus Col. Olcott, Mr. Sinnett, Mr. Bertram 
Keightley, Mabel Collins, Mr. Walter R. Old, and many 
others, and finally Mrs. Besant, accepted some of the 
messages and writings of H.P.B. as genuine, others as 
fraudulent; the same with the messages of Mr. Judge; 
ultimately the same with each other,—for in 1907 Mr. 
Sinnett, Mr. Mead, Mr. Bertram Keightley, and others 
who were her firm allies in 1894-5, broke with Mrs. Be- 
sant over the famous ‘‘Adyar manifestations’’ at the 
period of the death of Col. Olcott. Mr. Sinnett who re- 
garded highly the ‘‘clairvoyance’’ of Mr. Leadbeater in 
1895, ceased to have any respect for Mr. Leadbeater’s 
‘foceult’’ powers when the latter took a tangent of 
‘trevelations’’ which opposed and obscured Mr. Sinnett’s 
own coruscations. Colonel Olcott, who took Mrs. Besant 
to be the promised substitute for H.P.B., came to dis- 
believe in her spiritual powers, almost to disbelieve in 
her ordinary integrity, as was well known to many in 
the years before his death. Mr. Leadbeater, whom Col. 
Olcott thought to be the most brilliant star in the Occult 


ATTACK OF “WESTMINSTER GAZETTE” 589 


hierarchy, broke the Colonel’s heart by his frank ad- 
mission before the London Committee of 1906 of teach- 
ing nameless practices to young boys as a cure for ‘‘evil 
thought-forms.’’ Mrs. Besant, who from 1893 till 1906, 
was a firm believer in the powers of Chakravarti and 
his connection with the Masters, and to whom she looked 
for the ‘‘messages’’ that should guide her conduct, came 
at last to believe that Chakravarti was under ‘‘dark 
influences,’’ and substituted Mr. Leadbeater as her ‘‘oc- 
eult’’ mentor.® All these persons, joined together under 
a common influence, were determined in 1894-5 to ‘‘ purify 
the Society’’ by the destruction of the reputation and 
influence of Mr. Judge. But in their subsequent careers 
they took tangential paths. Of all the coterie of 1894-5, 
only one, Mr. Bertram Keightley, still follows the faded 
Theosophical star of Chakravarti. In private, and to 
various persons, both Col. Olcott and Mrs. Besant re- 
peatedly admitted that they had wronged Mr. Judge, that 
their course in 1894-5 was a mistaken course, but 
—such are the karmic consequences of infidelity to the 
pledges of Occultism—they were never able to regain 
the stamina and sense of honor to publicly admit their 
folly, and thus undo as best they could the evil they had 
unconsciously made themselves the tools and instruments 
of. For the one, there must be much of extenuation as 
well as charity ; for the other—there can be only charity. 
But it is owing today, as it was in 1893-5, that the truth 
should be made known without fear or favor, as with- 
out malice, that those whose only demerit is ignorance 
and whose only fault reliance upon authority, may choose 
their path in knowledge of the opposing issues and the 
parts played by the respective proponents of the two 
mutually irreconcilable views of the Theosophical Move- 
ment, which includes all, the false as the true, the foolish 
as the wise, in its mighty stream. 


*See the various articles in The Theosophist, March-September, 1907, 
immediately following the death of Col. Oleott. The unnamed competitor 
of Mrs. Besant for Col. Oleott’s nomination for President after his death 
was Bertram Keightley, Chakravarti’s staunch supporter. 


590 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


Mr. Judge closed his circular of November 3, 1894, 
with the following: 


E.S.T. Orper 


IT now proceed a step further than the E.S.T. 
decisions of 1894, and solely for the good 
of the E.S.T., I resume in the E.S.T. in full 
all the functions and powers given to me by 
H.P.B. .-. and that came to me by orderly suc- 
cession after her passing from this life, and 
declare myself the sole head of the E.S.T. -.. 
Hence, under the authority given me by the Mas- 
ter and H.P.B. .-., and under the Master’s 
direction, I declare Mrs. Annie Besant’s head- 
ship in the E.S.T. at an end. 


A notice of this E.S8.T. Order was at once cabled to 
Mrs. Besant in Australia, where she then was; and a 
copy of the entire circular was forwarded to her at 
Colombo, Ceylon, where she arrived on December 18, 
1894, en route to attend the Adyar Convention scheduled 
for the holidays as usual. Immediately Mrs. Besant drew 
up a counter-cireular which, dated Colombo, December 
19, was as quickly as possible sent out under a London 
imprint, to all members of the E.S8.T. After a pre- 
liminary paragraph devoted to explanations of her de- 
lay in sending out her statement, she makes the follow- 
ing comments: 


I do not know if the statements as to Mr. 
Judge’s part in the foundation of the E.S.T. 
are or are not true. H.P.B. never mentioned 
to me the alleged facts, except the one that Mr. 
Judge had not taken the ordinary pledge, he 
being already pledged. 


This statement can searcely be taken as other than a 
convenient hiatus of memory on Mrs. Besant’s part, 


‘This was a typographical error in the original circular. The date should 
be 1891, as the reference is to the Avenue Road meeting on May 27 of that 
year, following the death of H.P.B. 


ATTACK OF “WESTMINSTER GAZETTE” 591 


seeing that it was herself who read at the Council Meet- 
ing of May 27, 1891, the bundle of documents establishing 
the veracity of Mr. Judge’s statements. Mrs. Besant 
o’oes on to discuss her own status at the time of the de- 
parture of H.P.B., the status of the Inner Group, and 
Mr. Judge’s participation in the meeting of May 27, 
TkopealA) ld Niky tsfe 


..- H.P.B. did, when I left her [to go to 
America to attend the Convention at the end of 
April, 1891], give me a sealed statement, consti- 
tuting me Chief Secretary of the I. G. and 
Recorder of the teachings. She also wrote to 
Mr. Judge stating that I was her ‘‘Successor,’’ 
when she had to leave us, and Mr. Judge read 
that extract to our little group at Avenue Road 
when he came over after her death, as constitut- 
ing—with her statements to himself—the basis 
for the future arrangements. ... Ere leaving 
for America I asked her if I might discuss the 
I. G. Instructions with Mr. Judge; she an- 
swered: No, not unless he took the pledge. 
When he came to London after her death I told 
him this, and the first of the spurious ‘‘mes- 
sages’’ was the assent to his question if he might 
enter the I. G. without taking the pledge. It 
seemed to all of us natural and right that he 
should come in, and we joyfully welcomed him. 


If the reader will turn to the extracts, given in Chapter 
XIX of this History, from the Official Minutes of the 
Avenue Road meeting of May 27, 1891, to which Mrs. 
Besant refers above, he will find that it was not a meet- 
ing of the Inner Group, but of the Advisory Council, 
English and American, although the members of the 
Inner Group were all members of that Council. The 
opening words of those Minutes recited: 


A full meeting of the Council, as appointed by 
H.P.B., was held at the Headquarters of the 
Theosophical Society in Hurope, 19, Avenue 


592 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


Road, London, England, on May 27, 1891. The 
American Councillors were represented by Bro. 
William Q. Judge, with full power, and Bro. 
Judge attended as the representative of H.P.B. 
under a general power given as below. 


The ‘‘general power’’ mentioned was the document of 
December 14, 1888, which is reproduced in full in the 
Minutes. 

Further, referring both to the various documents men- 
tioned as well as to H.P.B.’s letter to Mr. Judge about 
Mrs. Besant, of which she speaks, as ‘‘stating that I 
[Mrs. Besant] was her ‘Successor,’ ’’ the Minutes say 
‘‘which we now here have read,’’—not, as Mrs. Besant 
puts it, ‘‘Mr. Judge read that extract to our little group 
at Avenue Road.’’ It was after every Councillor had 
read those documents and that letter that the Minutes 
were drawn up, giving to Mr. Judge, not Mrs. Besant, 
the status of ‘‘the representative of H.P.B.’’ The 
status accorded Mrs. Besant, on the documents and let- 
ter, was Chief Secretary and Recorder of the teachings 
of H.P.B. to the Inner Group. Those Minutes were 
signed by every Councillor without exception, Mrs. 
Besant included. 

This circular of Mrs. Besant’s, written after Mr. 
Judge’s action in terminating her Co-Headship of the 
H.8.T., is the origin of her claim to be the ‘‘Successor’’ 
appointed by H.P.B. She had either to accept the 
action of Mr. Judge or reject it; she chose the latter 
course and the Successor claim was her foundation. If 
the letter of H.P.B. to Judge, dated March 27, 1891, 
meant what Mrs. Besant claimed it meant, it stands to 
reason that she would have broadcasted the text of that 
letter, of which she had a copy. She never did so, and 
the presumption must stand heavily against her on that 
account alone, quite apart from H.P.B.’s known posi- 
tion on the subject of ‘‘apostolic succession’’ and the 
position taken by herself at the time of the Foulkes’ 
claim to be H.P.B.’s Successor. Moreover, as often hap- 
pens in cases of concerted action on an insecure basis, 


ATTACK OF “WESTMINSTER GAZETTE” 593 


one of the ‘‘partners’’ in the ‘‘case against W. Q. Judge’’ 
went too far for safety in her zeal. Early in 1895 Countess 
Wachtmeister put out a pamphlet in support of Mrs. 
Besant, entitled ‘‘H.P.B. and the Present Crisis in the 
Theosophical Society.’’ On p. 4 of that pamphlet she 
gives—correctly—the particular extract from H.P.B.’s 
letter to Mr. Judge covering the ‘‘Successor’’ myth, as 
follows: 


Judge, she 1s a most wonderful. woman, my 
right hand, my successor, when I will be forced 
to leave you, my sole hope in England, as you 
are my sole hope in America. 


With all of this, every one familiar with Mrs. Besant’s 
career and the situation in the Theosophical world in 
1891, must entirely agree, as did Judge. Did H.P.B. 
mean Successor in the sense which Mrs. Besant claimed 
and claims—apostolic succession? 

It so happens that H.P.B. refers to the same subject, 
to the same conditions, and uses the very same terms, 
in closing section of ‘‘The Key to Theosophy’’—to men- 
tion a specific instance—and she there says regarding 
‘‘the future of the Theosophical Society,’’ in reply to a 
postulated question: 


I spoke rather of the great need which our 
successors in the guidance of the Society will 
have of unbiassed and clear judgment. 


It will be noted that both in Countess Wachtmeister’s 
textual copy from the letter, and in the above quotation 
from the ‘‘Key,’’ H.P.B. spelled the word with a small 
letter, not with a capital ‘‘S’’ as Mrs. Besant puts it 
in her circular—a telltale change indeed. 

We have gone thus fully into Mrs. Besant’s claim of 
being the ‘‘Successor’’ of H.P.B., because her Theo- 
sophical prestige before the world, now as then, rests 
exoterically on the fact of her being the ‘‘most wonderful 
woman”’ that H.P.B. called her, and esoterically on her 
claim to be the Successor of the Messenger of the nine- 


594 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


teenth century. To any student of the teachings of 
H.P.B., the mere fact that any one should claim to be 
her ‘‘Successor’’ is evidence merely of the delusion, the 
ignorance, or the guile of the one making such a claim. 

Mrs. Besant, in the paragraph last quoted from her 
circular of December 19, 1894, presents another of those 
curious idiosynerasies of character and inconsistencies 
of conduct with which her career abounds. She says: 
‘‘Hire leaving for America I asked her (H.P.B.) if I 
might discuss the I. G. Instructions with Mr. Judge; she 
answered: ‘No, not unless he took the I. G. pledge.’ ”’ 
Yet in literally the next breath she says: ‘‘ When he came 
to London after her death J told hum this, and the first 
of the spurious ‘messages’ was the assent to his question 
if he might enter the I. G. without taking the pledge. 
It seemed to all of us natural and right that he should 
come im, and we joyfully welcomed him.’’ Now, if she 
had mstructions from H.P.B. not to admit Mr. Judge 
without his taking the pledge, what kind of a Successor 
was she to admit him pledge-free? Or, if she was a 
genuine Successor how came it that she violated her ‘‘In- 
structions’’ and admitted him on the strength of a spuri- 
ous ‘‘message’’? What is the ‘‘Occult’’ nature of that 
Successor who by her own confession is unable to tell a 
‘‘spurious’’ from a genuine message from the Masters? 
Or violates the Instructions received? 

Mrs. Besant’s circular goes on to say: 


The ‘‘plot,’? so far as I know, is the purest 
delusion. What is said of Mr. Chakravarti I 
know to be false, and I can but feel the pro- 
foundest pity and sorrow for him who uses the 
holy name of the Master to cover such a charge. 


We have inserted italics above, because we do not doubt 
that Mrs. Besant spoke truly in saying ‘‘so far as I 
know.’’ And although she claimed to ‘‘know”’ that what 
was said of Chakravarti was ‘‘false,’’? she has many 
times, since 1906, said the same thing of Chakravarti 
herself that Judge wrote in 1894. Was Mrs. Besant 


ATTACK OF “WESTMINSTER GAZETTE” 595 


right then and wrong since 1906, or vice versa, on the 
nature of the ‘‘influences’’ exerted through Mr. Chak- 
ravarti? 

Mrs. Besant states, with reference to Mr. Judge’s 
K.S.T. Order’’: 


Mhemeohe Sele Orderiy. le rejectayelehiale 
pursue my work quietly, with such of the Council 
left by H.P.B. as think it right to work with 
me. Mr. Judge thinks it right to rend the School 
in twain, and I can only go on steadily as I have 
learned. We have come to the parting of the 
ways. I recognize no authority in Mr. Judge. 
Not from his hands did I receive my work; not 
into his hands may I surrender it. 

And now, brothers and sisters, you must 
choose your road, grievous as the choice must be 
to you. Mr. Judge casts me aside, breaks the last 
tie between us that remained. 


It seems not even remotely to have suggested itself to 
Mrs. Besant that it was her own actions, not those of 
Judge, that had ‘‘rent the School in twain’’; that it was 
herself who had ‘‘broken the last tie which remained.”’ 
How she ‘‘pursued her work,’’ is now to be witnessed. 


CHAPTER XXXIIT 
MRS. BESANT TRIES TO DRIVE JUDGE OUT OF THE SOCIETY 


I sHALL pursue my work quietly, with such as 
think it right to work with me—I ean only go 
on steadily as I have learned—to you who will 
stand where H.P.B. left us together and work 
with me, I have also a word to say: Remember 
the ancient rule: ‘‘ Hatred ceaseth not by hatred; 
hatred ceaseth by love.’’ Follow peace and 
charity; attack none; blame none; impute no 
evil motives; cast not back reproaches. 


Thus wrote Mrs. Besant on December 19, 1894, at the 
conclusion of her circular announcing her rejection of 
the Order of Mr. Judge dated November 3, in the E.S.T., 
and her pronouncement: ‘‘I recognize no authority in 
Mr. Judge.’’ This was her declaration of policy, her 
adjuration to all those who might believe in her protesta- 
tions. We have but to follow in epitome her conduct 
for the ensuing six months under this self-proclaimed 
standard of action for herself and those who might trust 
to her guidance, to learn by the test of her actions, the 
measure of her good faith. 

Immediately she took ship for India to attend the two 
Conventions—the customary ‘‘Anniversary Meeting’’ 
and the regular annual session of the Indian Section, to 
both of which she was a delegate from the Kuropean 
Section. Hn route she prepared a fresh Statement of 
more than five newspaper columns, which she entitled 
‘“‘The Theosophical Society and The Westminster 
Gazette.’’ This she dated December 23, 1894, and, im- 
mediately on arriving at Adyar, gave it to the Madras 
Mail for publication, sending, at the same time, a copy to 
London for publication in the Daily Chronicle. This ar- 

596 


ATTEMPT TO EXPEL JUDGE 597 


ticle is filled with self-extenuations and self-defense 
against the gibes and jeers leveled at her in the West- 
ninster Gazette series; with invective and charges against 
Mr. Judge, supported by the most astonishing misstate- 
ments of facts as formerly solemnly attested by herself— 
misstatements resting entirely upon her ipse diait, and 
unaccompanied by a single verifiable reference as to their 
truth. 

Quite naturally the propaganda which had _ been 
steadily carried on in India by Col. Olcott, Mr. Bertram 
Keightley, Countess Wachtmeister, and Miss Miller, all 
under cover and all unopposed, had aroused the certainty 
that extraordinary happenings were scheduled for the 
Conventions. This drew a very large attendance of visi- 
tors as well as delegates. The publication in the Madras 
Mail could but accentuate the excitement and serve to 
pave the way for what was to follow. 

Colonel Oleott’s Presidential Address, aside from its 
usual statistics and the necessary accompanying explana- 
tory matter, was almost entirely devoted to the recrudes- 
cent ‘‘Judge case.’’ It shows plainly that the President- 
Founder, in full accord with Mrs. Besant and the rest, — 
had determined to force Judge out of office and out of 
the Society even at hazards which had been counted and 
discounted—the withdrawal from the Society of a great 
portion of its membership. As his own words expressed 
iti 


I have had it intimated that if Mr. Judge 
should be forced to resign, the American Section 
will secede in a body, form an American The- 
osophical Society independently, and elect him 
President. And I should not be surprised if a 
large number of excellent people in the EKuro- 
pean Section should unite with the Americans 
in the event of a split. 


The recent London Enquiry was called an ‘‘unavoid- 
able failure,’’ even while admitting that ‘‘both the Gen- 
eral Council and Judicial Committee voted to quash the 


598 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


proceedings against the accused on a point which, al- 
though technical was nevertheless irrefutable.’’ 
The President-Founder went on to say: 


As we cannot legally try Mr. Judge, Vice- 
President, for alleged misdemeanors committed 
by W. Q. Judge, individual; and as the indi- 
vidual cannot be tried for his private opinions, 
we have to fall back upon the moral aspect of 
the case. 


There being no ‘‘case against Judge’’ either as officer 
or individual under the Constitution and Rules of the 
Society, some other scheme had to be conjured up in 
order to oust him, and the ‘‘moral aspect of the case’’ 
as interpreted by Col. Olcott, was of necessity the device 
adopted to force the issue. That moral aspect, Col. Ol- 
cott argues, requires Mr. Judge to resign because he has 
been accused, and he proceeds to cite as ‘‘precedents”’ 
among others, the resignation by Madame Blavatsky in 
1885, and his own resignation in 1892. He does not re- 
mind his audience that H.P.B.’s resignation, as she 
herself wrote Col. Olcott on April 11, 1885, was due to 
the cowardly desertion of her by Col. Oleott and his 
Council and Convention at the time of the Coulomb- 
Christian College Magazine accusations against her, and 
not at all because of the accusations. Nor does it occur 
to him now, any more than when he tendered his own 
resignation in 1892, that for an official to resign under the 
fire of charges by his associates is uniformly properly 
construed as either a confession of guilt or a lamentable 
exhibition of moral cowardice. 

The President-Founder takes it for granted that Mr. 
Judge is guilty of the offenses charged but, as faced 
him in the case of H.P.B. herself, is under the necessity 
of finding some way to reconcile his view with the known 
and lifelong devotion and work of Mr. Judge in the The- 
osophical cause. How could Mr. Judge both be ‘‘guilty”’ 
and yet be free from ‘‘guilty knowledge and intent,’’ 
from ‘‘moral responsibility’’? His answer is, ‘‘medium- 


ATTEMPT TO EXPEL JUDGE 599 


ship or psychism’’; a medium or psychic ‘‘is often ir- 
resistibly impelled by an extraneous force to do acts of 
turpitude of which he is incapable in his normal state 
of consciousness.’’ This perfectly true and well-known 
fact, it is argued, will account for Mr. Judge’s ‘‘wrong- 
doing,’’ and either permit or compel his resignation with- 
out the imputation of actual criminality. He proceeds: 


At this moment, I have knowledge of at least 
seven different psychics in our Society who be- 
lieve themselves to be in communication with 
the same Mahatmas and doing their work, who 
have each a knot of disciples or adherents about 
them, and whose supposed teachers give orders 
which conflict with each others’! 


What Col. Olcott does not state is that among these 
‘‘seven psychics’? were Chakravarti, Countess Wacht- 
meister, Mr. Old, Mr. Sinnett’s ‘‘sensitive’’?’ Mr. Lead- 
beater, all leagued in the cabal against Mr. Judge, nor 
that the ‘‘messages’’ that Mrs. Besant, Mr. Sinnett, and 
himself had been receiving from the ‘‘ Masters,’’ coming 
‘‘through’’ these various ‘‘psychiecs,’’ were the real 
foundation of the whole attack—not any mundane 
‘‘proof.’’? Nor does he trouble to explain why, all being 
‘‘mediums and psychics”’ alike, it was Mr. Judge alone 
who must be driven into outer darkness. 

Near the close of his Address Col. Olcott makes a re- 
markable admission, the possible bearings of which seem 
never to have occurred to him. He says: 


My objective intercourse with the Great 
Teachers ceased almost entirely on the death of 
H.P.B., while any subjective relations I may 
have with them is evidence only to myself and 
would carry no weight with third parties. 


If his ‘‘objective intercourse with the Great Teachers’’ 
had ‘‘ceased almost entirely with the death of H.P.B.,”’ 
why was this the case? Mere death or mere physical 
distance forms no barrier whatever to ‘‘objective inter- 
course’’ between an accepted chela and those in the same 


600 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


or a higher class than himself, nor is any intermediary 
necessary. These words of Col. Olcott’s are an uncon- 
scious confession of a number of tremendous facts: that 
he was never himself an accepted chela; that he had to 
depend on H.P.B. or some one else for ‘‘objective inter- 
course’’; that not being even an accepted chela him- 
self, he had no means of knowing such a chela even if 
encountered, and no means of knowing whether any ‘‘com- 
munication,’’ objective or subjective, was genuinely from 
its professed source; that he had to depend on ‘‘third 
parties’’ and mere externalities both for his ‘‘messages’’ 
and his means of verification. Certainly it never oc- 
curred to him that he might have ‘‘guessed wrong’’ 
onee more, that Mr. Judge might be what H.P.B. said 
he was in 1888, ‘‘a chela of thirteen years’ standing,”’ 
and what the Master himself called Mr. Judge, ‘‘my dear 
Colleague’’; never occurred to him that it might be his 
own attitude that cut him off from H.P.B. dead, from 
Mr. Judge and the Masters living, and thus compelled 
him tc have recourse, as Mr. Sinnett and Mrs. Besant 
had, to more facile and pliant ‘‘psychics.’’ 

If these things never occurred to Col. Olcott, Mrs. 
Besant, Mr. Sinnett, Mr. Bertram Keightley, Chak- 
ravarti, Mr. Old, the Countess Wachtmeister, and other 
leaders and respected Heads in the Society, how should 
they have occurred to the great mass of sincere and trust- 
ing members who looked up to them as disciples who 
had been near to H.P.B. and who had been favored 
with ‘‘messages from the Masters’’? 

As soon as Col. Olcott had concluded his Address and 
the other formal matters were out of the way, Mrs. Besant 
rose and presented a long Preamble and Resolution, 
which was seconded by Mr. Bertram Keightley, as 
follows: 


Seeing that a series of articles has appeared 
in the Westminster Gazette, London, containing 
charges of deception and fraud against Mr. W. 
Q. Judge, now Vice-President of the Theosophi- 
eal Society ; and 


ATTEMPT TO EXPEL JUDGE 601 


Seeing that a strong body of evidence has been 
brought forward against the accused, and seeing 
that the attempt by the Society to bring the mat- 
ter to an issue last July was defeated by Mr. 
W. Q. Judge on a purely technical objection 
to the jurisdiction of the committee; and 

Seeing that Mr. Judge, being Vice-President 
of the whole Society, has issued a quasi- 
privately-circulated attack against one Section 
thereof, thus stirring up ill-feeling within the 
Society, and endeavouring to set the West 
against the Hast, contrary to the first object of 
the Society generally, and to the second object 
specifically ; and 

Seeing that this is the first occasion since July 
on which a representative body of Theosophists 
has been gathered together; and 

Seeing that immemorial custom requires of 
every honourable man holding a representative 
office in any Society to at once tender his resig- 
nation under such circumstances as are stated 
above; 

Therefore the anniversary meeting of the The- 
osophical Society 

Resolves; That the President-Founder be and 
is hereby requested to at once call upon Mr. W. 
(). Judge, Vice-President, Theosophical Society, 
to resign the office of Vice-President; it being 
of course open to Mr. Judge if he so wishes, to 
submit himself for re-election, so that the So- 
ciety may pass its judgment on his positions. 


It would, we think, be difficult to measure the shame- 
less effrontery of these Preambles and Resolutions, the 
subterfuges employed in their declarations and wording. 
What were the recorded facts thus dressed to play their 
several parts in the grim travesty of justice for which 
the stage had been so sedulously prepared? 

As shown by the ‘‘Neutrality’’ pamphlet officially is- 
sued under Col. Olcott’s direction, the facts were: 


602 ; THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


(I) That both the General Council and the Judicial 
Committee, a majority of each in sympathy with the 
accusers, had none the less felt constrained to vote that 
neither the Society as such, its Council or its Judicial 
Committee, had any occasion to ‘‘investigate’’ the 
charges made against Mr. Judge either as Vice-President 
or as individual member of the Society—and they had 
done this at Col. Oleott’s express plea; Mr. Judge had 
merely pointed out to them their own Rules and Consti- 
tution. Caught in their own toils, they had to avowedly 
break their own loudly proclaimed devotion to the ‘‘Con- 
stitution and Rules’’ in order to ‘‘get at’’ Mr. Judge, 
or else beat a retreat to ‘‘save their own face.’’ They 
chose the latter and to mask their discomfiture essayed 
the scheme of a ‘‘ Jury of Honour,’’ packed as the Com- 
mittee had been. Detected and put to the shame of an- 
other defeat, they had proposed the Convention of the 
Huropean Section as the jury, which Mr. Judge had at 
once accepted. 

(II) The ‘‘strong body of evidence’’ published by the 
Westminster Gazette was none other than an exact dupli- 
cate of the ‘‘evidence’’ prepared by Mrs. Besant for the 
London Enquiry, plus Mr. Garrett’s hostile and biting 
interpretations and applications from it against all con- 
cerned. Every member of the General Council and of 
the Judicial Committee saw and read that ‘‘evidence”’ 
before voting, Mr. Judge alone being refused more than 
an oral inspection during the Enquiry. The Council 
and Committee both voted not to include the ‘‘evidence”’ 
in the ‘‘ Neutrality’? Report, the iniquitous nature of such 
a proceeding being too much for the moral stomachs 
even of some of the most partisan. 

(IIT) Mr. Judge was never at any time elected Vice- 
President of the Society; he was ‘‘appointed’’ by Col. 
Olcott in the arbitrary exercise of his ‘‘discretionary 
powers,’’ and simply accepted the situation status quo 
as there were no functions to fulfill so long as Col. Olcott 
remained President, and when the latter ‘‘resigned’’ in 
1892, Mr. Judge was elected President by the unanimous 
vote of all the Sections; this office he not only never 


ATTEMPT TO EXPEL JUDGE 603 


claimed, but actually was the active agent in procuring 
the withdrawal by the Colonel of the tendered resigna- 
tion. The ‘‘Neutrality’’ Report shows that Mr. Judge 
pointed out that he was never anything but de facto Vice- 
President, and this point was admittedly correct, if de 
jure meant elected Vice-President. Furthermore, it was 
Mr. Judge who pointed out the anomalous situation aris- 
ing from the fact that he was himself the duly elected 
President and that this should be formally rescinded by 
the General Council in order to make de jure as well as 
de facto the Presidency of Col. Olcott, which was done. 
What the ‘‘ Neutrality’? Report did not take occasion to 
show was the fact, interesting and valuable at this point, 
that the only elective offices held by Mr. Judge in the 
Society were those of President of the Aryan Lodge at 
New York City, and General Secretary of the American 
Section from its organization, to both of which offices he 
was unanimously re-elected after the charges were made 
by Mrs. Besant, after the ‘‘suspension’’ of his office of 
Vice-President by Col. Oleott. Colonel Olcott knew that 
he had at any moment the same identical power to ‘‘re- 
move’’ Mr. Judge from the Vice-Presidency that he had 
to ‘‘appoint’’ him in the first place, or to ‘‘suspend’’ 
him. What other inference can be drawn from these 
facts alone but that his persecutors were determined to 
ruin the reputation of Mr. Judge, destroy his influence, 
and drive him into an exile of disgrace? 

(IV) Mr. Judge’s circular to the E.8.T. of Novem- 
ber 3, 1894, referred to in the ‘‘Preambles’’ as a ‘‘quasi- 
privately-circulated attack against one Section thereof, 
thus stirring up ill-feeling within the Society, and en- 
deavoring to set the West against the Hast,’’—this cir- 
cular was issued neither as an Officer of the T. S. nor as 
a Fellow of the Society, but as Head of the E.S.T. to 
its members,—a body having ‘‘no connection whatever 
with the T.S.’’ One has but to read the extracts given 
from Judge’s circular to see in any event, how grossly 
his remarks have been twisted to arouse the Hindus 
to the pitch needed. The lugging in of fresh charges— 
the violation of ‘‘the first object of the T.S. generally, 


604 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


and the second object specifically,’’—is manifestly mere 
Jesuitry: For, if true, it constituted an offense actually 
triable before’ a Judicial Committee under the Con- 
stitution and Rules then in force, a crime by Mr. Judge 
both as Officer and as Fellow, and it was the plan 
duty of the President-Founder to proceed without delay 
to the necessary legal and official steps. But the Reso- 
lution offered, the debate that ensued, the Resolution 
the next day of the Indian Section, and all the rest of 
the relentless course followed, alike showed that these 
fresh charges were made only for effect and to throw 
dust in the eyes of the membership. 

In arguing her motion to adopt these Preambles and 
Resolutions, Mrs. Besant made a speech that fills over 
ten pages of fine type in the Report of the Convention’s 
proceedings. There was the same covering of fine 
phrases about ‘‘duty,’’ ‘‘charity,’’ ‘‘forgiveness,’’ etc., 
as in the quotations from her Colombo circular with which 
this chapter begins; the same assertions as in the Madras 
Mail article, without an iota of verifiable references to 
establish her statements. She characterizes Judge’s 
action as ‘‘dishonourable,’’ but in kindness admits that 
Mr. Judge, being a ‘‘medium’’ may have been guilty of 
merely ‘‘unconscious fraud.’’ ‘‘Mediumship,’’ urges 
Mrs. Besant, ‘‘is an excuse for the individual against 
moral judgment. It is no excuse for an official who under 
mediumship commits acts of moral turpitude.’’ The 
speech is a classic example of special pleading. 

Following Mrs. Besant, Mr. Bertram Keightley, Cap- 
tain Banon, Miss Muller, S. Subramanier, Dr. Hubbe- 
Schleiden, EK. M. Sasseville, a pseudo-representative 
of the American Section, C. V. Naidu, the Countess 
Wachtmeister, V. C. Seshacharry, and Col. Olcott made 
speeches, all strongly laudatory of Mrs. Besant and 
condemnatory of Mr. Judge. Some were for ‘‘expell- 
ing’? Mr. Judge forthwith by Resolutions requesting 
the President-Founder to take that action without delay; 
which gave excellent opportunity for remarks on ‘‘fair- 
ness,’’ ‘‘tolerance,’’ ‘‘justice,’’ ete. 

Of all the remarkable speeches of that remarkable day 


ATTEMPT TO EXPEL JUDGE 605 


none excelled the statement of Miss Miller. As both Col. 
Olcott and Mrs. Besant sat silent during and after her 
remarks, and as no protest was raised by anyone, it must 
be inferred that all shared in the responsibility for them 
and were accessories to the stupendous moral iniquity of 
Miss Miiller’s declarations. For it will be remembered 
that Miss Muller was party—and very much party—to 
the charges of ‘‘grave immorality’”’ against Col. Oleott 
in the autumn of 1891; charges which were brought by 
Mrs. Besant to Mr. Judge, as has been narrated.’ The 
spirit of the meeting may be well instanced by quoting 
some of Miss Miller’s remarks. She said: 


Were I to expend the utmost eloquence that I 
can command, and bring before you the details 
of the most damning facts which can be brought 
against Mr. Judge, I could not bring against 
him a more final and conclusive charge than has 
been brought by Mrs. Besant in the speech that 
she has made. I am not concerned to give you 
further information about him, for you have the 
fullest information. But I am concerned to say 
that it is for us members now to take a stand 
which we have never before taken in the Society. 
We are tired and we will no more have the 
policy of condoning what is wrong. We are 
tired and we will have no more of the policy of 
compromising with liars, and with those who are 
publicly accused and almost proved to be 
forgers and swindlers and vulgar impostors. We 
shall not have these men as leaders of the Soci- 
ety; rather we shall have the Society come to an 
end. ... Mrs. Besant has brought the charges 
against her colleague and friend, for whom I 
know she feels so great a tenderness, that she 
eannot press home against him that justice 
which time demands that we shall press home. 
.. . So it is not for her, but it is for us to do 
all that is required. .. . We have got to do our 


1See Chapters XXI and XXII. 


606 


THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


duty before the world, however disagreeable it 
may seem to the Theosophical Society. This is 
the first opportunity we have had of expressing 
an opinion upon Mr. Judge. ... Mrs. Besant 
brought charges against Mr. Judge in regard to 
his conduct, during the time of the Convention 
in July last year. These articles in the West- 
minster Gazette prove to the hilt to anybody 
that he is a fraud and a deceiver and a common 
impostor; and finally there is this beautiful 
specimen of his cleverness and villainies, this 
breaking of his most solemn pledge to those very 
Masters whose names he so shamefully attacks. 
We have had once before a specimen of this of 
Mr. Judge. Do we not remember that at the 
time of my first visit, in 1891 or 1892, Mr. 
Judge brought some very serious charges 
against Col. Oleott? Practically, he said to him 
‘‘You are President. You turn out: we won’t 
have you any more.’’ Why? ‘‘ Because I want to 
step into your shoes.’’ He did not succeed in 
that. Still, hke a bad man and a foolish man, to- 
day he comes with a repetition of the same 
things. He tells Mrs. Besant ‘‘You turn out.’’ 
Why? ‘‘ Because I want to step into your shoes.’’ 
If he is determined, if he is clever and strong 
enough to defeat us, it will only be at the cost 
of breaking up the Society. Why do we want 
him to be expelled? Not because we are an- 
tagonistic to him and against him, but because 
his stay any more in office means, not only the 
future fall of the Society from being what it 
might become—a centre of light, a means of 
radiating truth, a means of leading the mem- 
bers to spiritual life. If he is kept any more 
the Society will become exactly the opposite. 
The various societies will become badges of 
black magic. For averting a terrible danger to 
the Society, it is for us to speak strongly on this 
occasion, with no uncertain voice. 


ATTEMPT TO EXPEL JUDGE 607 


By such appeals the delegates were prepared for the 
vote. During the entire session, it will be noted, there 
was no voice raised in question of the un-Theosophical 
and inhuman methods employed; no demand for the pro- 
duction of proof, no opposition to the utter unconstitu- 
tionality of the whole trumped-up procedure, no call for 
an orderly and equitable hearing. The numerous letters, 
protests, memorials, and resolutions in defense or support 
of fair treatment of Mr. Judge, which both Col. Oleott’s 
Address and Mrs. Besant’s speech indicated had been 
received, were suppressed and not one word of their con- 
tents placed before the Convention. All took it for 
granted that the accused,—with such accusers,—must be 
guilty, and when the President-Founder put the resolu- 
tions to vote, they were adopted without a dissenting 
voice. On the next day the Convention of the Indian 
Section was held and there a further set of resolu- 
tions, moved by Tookaram Tatya and seconded by A. 
Nilakata Shastri, were unanimously adopted. These pro- 
vided (1) that the President-Founder be requested to 
eall upon Mr. Judge to resign; (2) that the President- 
Founder be requested to call on Mr. Judge ‘‘to make a 
full and satisfactory reply to the charges against him 
within six months from January 1, 1895’’; and (3) ‘‘fail- 
ing such answer, to take such steps as may be necessary 
for his expulsion from the Theosophical Society.’’ 

The hue and cry was on. The Report of the Conven- 
tion was sent out as a ‘‘Supplement’’ to The Theosophist 
and to all Branches and Lodges throughout the world. 
It contained the full text of the various speeches. The 
speeches of Mrs. Besant and Mr. Bertram Keightley, and 
Mrs. Besant’s article in the Madras Mail were at once 
issued in pamphlet form and copies of each pamphlet 
sent out to all members of the Theosophical Society. 

Immediately after the adjournment of the Conventions 
Mrs. Besant started on a tour of India and the scenes of 
the former year were largely repeated. The trustful 
Hindus, looking to Col. Olcott and her as the guardian 
and savior of the Society, knowing nothing of the Move- 
ment in the West save as its reflections reached them 


608 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


via the double refraction afforded by the Eastern 
heredity in general and the distorted versions given them, 
showed the utmost loyalty and devotion to what they 
conceived to be the true course. The Australasian Sec- 
tion was in very much the same state. Newly organized 
by Mrs. Besant under the Presidential carte blanche 
already detailed, knowing of the Society and the Move- 
ment only by way of London and India, impressed with 
the ability, energy, and fervor of Mrs. Besant, it was 
wholly natural that this Section should, as she had im- 
plied in her speech to the late Convention at Adyar, be 
influenced to follow her course, whatever it might be. 
Mr. J. C. Staples of England, friend both of Mrs. Besant 
and Col. Oleott, had, under her suggestion, been ap- 
pointed General Secretary of the newly forming Section. 
Mr. Staples had come out to the Orient and had been 
present at the Adyar Conventions. From there he had 
gone direct to Sydney to undertake his new duties. Thus 
out of the four Sections of the Society it was certain 
that two of them were dependable in the effort to 
ostracize Mr. Judge. The only battle-ground was the 
American and the European Section, and the alliance 
had been by no means idle there, merely because Col. 
Olcott and Mrs. Besant had been away ever since the 
London Enquiry. 

Mrs. Besant’s speech indicated some of the steps al- 
ready taken during her absence but under her general- 
ship. Mr. Mead had sent out, as General Secretary of 
the European Section, a circular to Lodge Officers and 
other influential members, asking them to signify if they 
‘fapproved of Mr. Judge being called upon to make ex- 
planation. Out of the 80 circulars sent out, 65 answers 
have been returned. These 65 unanimously demand that 
explanation should be made.’’ 

After the formal declaration of ‘‘war to the knife and 
the knife to the hilt’’ at the Adyar Conventions, the two 
chief allies were busy with the Indian tour and the 
preparation and forwarding of plans to bring the fray 
to a conclusion in England at the July, 1895, Convention 
of the European Section. The first public intimation of © 


ATTEMPT TO EXPEL JUDGE 609 


the plan of final battle is contained in the ‘‘Supplement”’ 
to The Theosophist for March, 1895, in a ‘‘Special Edi- 
torial Notice’’ signed with Col. Olcott’s initials. He says: 


The presence of the undersigned in his official 
capacity being again indispensable in London, 
for the final settlement of the Judge case and 
the intersectional frictions which have grown 
out of it, his intention is to sail early in May. 


The explanation for this declaration does not become 
public until a month later when, in the ‘‘Supplement’’ to 
The Theosophist for April, 1895, Col. Olcott publishes 
after long delay the text of two letters, the one formally 
addressed to him as President-Founder by Mrs. Besant 
and dated January 20; the other his reply, equally formal, 
dated a month later, February 21. In her letter Mrs. 
Besant requests Col. Olcott to again place in her hands 
‘‘the documents on which were based the charges pre- 
ferred by me last July against Mr. W. Q. Judge.’’ Mrs. 
Besant’s letter discloses that: 


A proposal has been made to call a Special 
Convention of the European Section T.S. on 
my return to Kurope, for the purpose of dis- 
cussing the attitude to be taken by the Section 
towards this case, and there is a general’ de- 
mand for the production of these papers for the 
information and guidance of Members. 


In his reply, he says that he has kept the papers ‘‘under 
lock and key’’ since ‘‘the abortive meeting’’ of the Ju- 
dicial Committee, as he ‘‘considered it improper to give 
them publicity unless new and imperative contingencies 
should arise.’? The new and imperative contingencies 
having been satisfactorily produced through the joint 
efforts of Mr. Old, Mrs. Besant, and himself, Col. Olcott 
proceeds to advise Mrs. Besant: 


Such is now the fact; and as it is evident that 
the case can never be equitably settled with- 
out the circulation of these papers, . . . before 


610 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


you sail, I shall confide the documents to your 
custody once more. . . 


A very significant admission of Col. Olcott’s in his 
letter to Mrs. Besant is found in his statement: ‘‘ Mr. 
Judge complains that he was not permitted to see them.”’ 
He therefore imposes on Mrs. Besant the conditions that 
she shall, in addition to placing copies of the papers in 
the hands of the General Secretary of the Kuropean See- 
tion (Mr. G. R. S. Mead) ‘‘for distribution to Branches 
and Members,’’ see that he also supplies ‘‘a certified copy 
of the evidence to Mr. Judge for his information and 
use.’’ 

In the course of the long controversy Mrs. Besant re- 
peatedly stated, the last time in April, 1895, that she had 
wn the begining furnished Mr. Judge with the ‘‘docu- 
ments’’ in the case, so that he might know what the ex- 
act charges against him were, and their supporting docu- 
mentary evidence, and might have an opportunity both 
to verify the one and know what he was to defend him- 
self against in the other. Mr. Judge had repeatedly 
stated that he did not have this necessary information, 
and there was, therefore, a point-blank contradiction. 
Colonel Olecott’s letter to Mrs. Besant, above referred to, 
shows clearly and conclusively that from Christmas, 1893, 
until after February 21, 1895, a horde of charges, slan- 
ders and calumnies, had been circulated privately, pub- 
licly, and officially by the leading member and the leading 
officer of the Society, against Mr. Judge, while never once 
had he been given a chance to know definitely and ac- 
curately the text of the charges nor the letters and other 
documentary evidence proposed to be used against him. 

In merely human jurisprudence in every civilized 
country in the world the established and settled legal 
procedure is the right of the accused to know what 
he is charged with and to have copies and inspection of 
the complete original letters or other documents pro- 
posed to be used against him. Not only was this de- 
nied Mr. Judge from first to last, but the complete 
text of the letters, ete., employed by the accusers, never 


ATTEMPT TO EXPEL JUDGE 611 


was made public. Only extracts were ever given, and 
the only protection against garbled extracts, against mat- 
ter taken entirely out of its context, was the assurance 
of the accusers that the extracts were genuine, the con- 
text in harmony with the extracts given! 

Turning now to England, we may follow the succes- 
sive developments there, after the Westminster Gazette 
firebrand had been cast into the Theosophical camp. In 
Lucifer for November, 1894, the editor during Mrs. 
Besant’s absence, her assistant, Mr. Mead, the General 
Secretary of the Kuropean Section, wrote in the ‘‘ Watch- 
Tower’’ under the caption: ‘‘Mine Own Familiar Friend 
in Whom I Trusted,’’ as follows: 


Just as we go to press a series of articles, 
making a most indiscriminate and vicious on- 
slaught on several of our friends and colleagues, 
is being published in The Westminster Gazette. 
We are deeply sorry to have to inform our read- 
ers that the inspirer of this attack is Mr. W. 
R. Old, who witnessed the passing away of H. 
P. Blavatsky. Virulence and misrepresentation 
can, however, only defeat their own ends. 


Closely associated as he was, in friendship, in sym- 
pathy, and in interest with Mrs. Besant, Mr. Mead found 
himself in hard case what course to pursue. It would 
appear from his note, ‘‘A Difficult Position,’’ in the next 
—the December—number of Lucifer, that he tried at first 
to take a position of impossible ‘‘neutrality.’’ He writes: 


... 1 find my present position in the The- 
osophical Society an excessively difficult and try- 
ing one,... | 

I am not only a private individual with my 
own feelings, opinions, beliefs, convictions, 
struggles and trials, but also the editor of Luct- 
FER with my colleague Annie Besant, the editor 
of the Vahan [the sectional magazine in Europe] 
with my colleague James M. Pryse, and the 


612 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


General Secretary of the Huropean Section of 
the Theosophical Society... . 

I am between the fires of contradictory 
opinions, and bow my head so that fire may 
accomplish its purpose, or miss its aim, as 
karma wills it. 


Mr. Mead therefore opened his columns to ‘‘The Clash 
of Opinion,’’ under which caption he published resolu- 
tions, letters, and other communications pro and con that 
month to the extent of six pages of text; in January 
seven pages. By that time the results of the campaign 
had begun to tell; the February, 1895, Lucifer begins 
with a twenty-seven page article forwarded by Mrs. 
Besant from India and entitled ‘‘The Theosophical So- 
ciety and the Present Troubles.’’ Mrs. Beasant opens in 
practiced vein: 


There are times when silence becomes a be- 
trayal of trust, and when a great cause may be 
ruined by the weakness of its friends; times 
when the truest charity is the clearest speech, 
and when love for the many who are bewildered 
and pleading for light must overbear the love 
for an individual. To speak a truth needed for 
the helping of thousands is obedience to the Law 
of compassion and not a breach thereof. 


Mrs. Besant proceeds to ‘‘speak the needed truth’’ 
for the ‘‘bewildered pleaders for light’’: ‘‘The messages 
. .. to which I referred publicly in August, 1891, were 
not genuine....’’ This refers to her Hall of Science 
speech in August, 1891, already quoted from in a former 
chapter.” How does she explain her present affirmation 
in view of her former oaths and avowals? Simply that 
she was ‘‘mistaken,’’ her ‘‘first-hand knowledge,’’ her 
‘*Successorship,’’ ete., to the contrary notwithstanding. 
Three pages of this are followed by the complete text 
of the Madras Mail article and of her speech before the 


*See Chapter XX. 


ATTEMPT TO EXPEL JUDGE 613 


Adyar Convention. How does she explain her Statement 
before the European Convention sitting as a ‘“‘Jury of 
Honour’’ in July preceding? She says: 


I must now, in this crisis, add some further 
words. ... 

There were other ‘‘messages’’ in the recog- 
nised script that did not come under what I said 
in July ... that I thought the gist of them had 
been psychically received. Rightly or wrongly 
—I am inclined to think wrongly—lI did not feel 
justified in saying that I regarded some of these 
other messages as deliberately written by Mr. 
Judge in the pursuance of objects he regarded 
as desirable . . . without a shadow of authority 
from any higher source. 


The ‘‘evidence’’ before her in July, 1894, was identi- 
cally the same as the ‘‘evidence’’ when she wrote the 
above words. What proofs does she give to support this 
change of front now? Why did she not, in July, say what 
she now says, that some of the messages were ‘‘delib- 
erately written by Mr. Judge, without a shadow of au- 
thority from any higher source’’? 


Debarred from producing the evidence which 
would have substantiated the assertion, I shrank 
from making in public on my unsupported word 
a statement so damaging to the reputation of 
another; that which I was prepared to prove be- 
fore the Committee, I was not prepared to state 
in public without the right to substantiate by 
evidence an assertion so grave. As much of the 
evidence has now been published, I feel at liberty 
to mention the opinion I formed from it at the 
time. 


Because she was ‘‘debarred’’ from ‘‘making in public’’ 
a statement that Mr. Judge had deltberately forged mes- 
sages from the Masters, she therefore did make publicly 
to the Convention the statement : 


614 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


. . . L wish it to be distinctly understood that 
I do not charge and have not charged Mr. Judge 
with forgery in the ordinary sense of the 
COLIN rare 

I regard Mr. Judge as an Occultist ... ani- 
mated by a deep and unswerving devotion to the 
Theosophical Society. I believe that he has 
often received direct messages from the Mas- 
ters and from Their chelas, guiding and help- 
ing him in his work. 


Mrs. Besant’s long article is accompanied by fifteen 
pages of ‘‘Clash of Opinion’’ in the same—February, 
1895—number of Lucifer. Although it is entitled the 
clash of opinion, the published matter consists, first of a 
letter of more than five printed pages by Mr. Mead ad- 
dressed to the European Section, in which he aligns him- 
self very strongly against Mr. Judge. Its tone is ex- 
pressed in this extract: 


Ever since the charges were brought Mr. 
Judge has kept on persistently adding to his 
claims, and his friends have now arrived at 
placing him on so high a pedestal that H. P. 
Blavatsky is left sitting on a very low stool in 
comparison. 


Mr. Bertram Keightley follows Mr. Mead with more 
than two pages, concluding: 


. I fully and entirely endorse all that Mrs. 
Besant has written and I shall always consider 
it a great honour to thus find myself associated 
with her. 


Alas for the mutability of mundane oaths. Since 1906, 
when Mrs. Besant herself discovered that Chakravarti 
was under the influence of the ‘‘dark powers,’’ Mr. 
Keightley has sedulously avoided the ‘‘great honour’’ 
of finding himself associated with Mrs. Besant, and main- 
tained his liens with Chakravarti. 


ATTEMPT TO EXPEL JUDGE 615 


Alexander Fullerton, of whom we have earlier spoken, 
follows Mr. Keightley with two pages. Mr. Fullerton 
says that ‘‘from the first I have held the unqualified con- 
viction that a thorough investigation was imperatively 
due,’’ but that he has received a ‘‘message’’ himself ‘‘in 
two parts,’’ direct from the Master, the first part warn- 
ing him ‘‘against judging from surface facts’’; the sec- 
ond advised Mr. Fullerton that ‘‘Mr. Judge had, in all 
respects, both as to silence and as to speech, followed 
the Master’s order,’’ and that Mr. Fullerton’s own duty 
in the premises ‘‘was clear.’’ Mr. Fullerton states, in 
explanation: 


Had the channel of this information been Mr. 
Judge or connected with him, the questions 
raised by the charges and still unsettled would 
have prevented my acceptance of it. It was, in 
fact, a channel altogether independent, previ- 
ously known to and verified by me, one affirmed 
through important and conclusive experience as 
an actual disciple of the Master, and at times 
used for communications. 

The communication went counter to all my 
convictions, judgments and inferences. It op- 
posed the investigation I deemed obligatory, and 
the suspicions I regarded inevitable. It directly 
denied what I thought my own duty, and af- 
firmed the policy I considered disastrous. Only 
one consideration could reconcile me to vacating 
the position I believed true—the certainty that 
the message enjomimng ths was genuine. This 
certainty I possessed. 


Undoubtedly many sincere students at that time, and 
many sincere students of today, as in the intervening 
years, have asked themselves and others when perplexi- 
ties have arisen, the question, Why do not the Masters in- 
terfere and clear up the situation? They had forgotten 
then, as they forget today, what H.P.B. wrote in the 


*See Chapter XXIV. 


616 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


First Preliminary Memorandum in 1888, on this very 
subject: 


... the fact that a member has concluded 
that a crisis of some kind or other is at hand, 
when according to his wise opinion the Master 
or Masters ought to speak or interfere per- 
sonally, is no sound reason for such personal 
interference. ... 

The additional help, instruction, and enlight- 
enment will always come from the inner planes 
of being, and will ... always be given when 
deserved. 

To achieve this, the attitude of mind... is 
that which shall tend to develop the faculty of 
mtuition. .. . | 

It is required of a member that when a ques- 
tion arises it shall be deeply thought over from 
all its aspects, to the:end that he may find the 
answer himself . . . Otherwise his intuition will 
never be developed; he will not learn self-reli- 
ance; and two of the main objects of the School 
will be defeated. 


If these wise words had been taken to heart in the 
various ‘‘crises’’ and ‘‘clashes of opinion’’ throughout 
Theosophical history, individual and collective, all the 
struggles of the Society, the School, and the units thereof 
would have been successfully overpassed. 

The utter impossibility of Occult help to those who 
will not follow the instructions given, whose hearts 
and minds are filled with doubt, questioning, suspicions, 
of the very channels through which alone the needed and 
longed-for aid can come, is well shown by Mr. Fullerton’s 
own case. For, in spite of the ‘‘certainty of the genuine- 
ness of the message’’ which he declared he possessed, 
and which made him declare: ‘‘I now support Mr. Judge’s 
policy . . . avowedly on the ground of this message’’— 
in spite of all this, Mr. Fullerton kept up his communi- 
cations with Mrs. Besant, Col. Olcott, and Mr. Sinnett, 
for each of whom he had a very high regard, personally 


ATTEMPT TO EXPEL JUDGE 617 


and Theosophically, but all of whom were engaged in 
acting directly the opposite of the course enjoined in the 
‘‘message.’’ Influenced by what he heard from them, by 
his own inner state of mind, and in particular by a let- 
ter from Mr. Sinnett (to which we shall recur) * Mr. Ful- 
lerton finally, early in April, 1895, concluded that Judge 
was a very guilty man indeed, deserted him, went 
over to the ‘‘enemy,’’ and, immediately after the Conven- 
tion of the American Section in the same month, issued 
a circular announcing his affiliation with the enemies of 
Mr. Judge. He did this, while still remarking in the 
circular, ‘‘I am still utterly unable to explain or account 
for the message referred to. .. .’’ 

Subsequently, in 1906-7, Mr. Fullerton had still an- 
other change of heart, and broke with Mrs. Besant over 
the ‘‘ Adyar manifestations?’ at the time of the death of 
Col. Olcott and the original ‘‘Leadbeater trouble.’’ He 
never recovered from the shock incident to the fall of 
these idols from the pedestal on which he had placed 
them, and died, a broken man, a few years later. But 
to return. 

The remaining space in ‘‘The Clash of Opinion’’ in 
the February Lucifer is taken up with resolutions of 
Lodges, etc., adverse to Mr. Judge. Lucifer for March 
contains in all over twenty-five pages devoted to the 
‘‘Judge case,’’ including a letter from Mr. Judge him- 
self, dated at New York, January 25, 1895. In this Mr. 
Judge says: 


A long and sustained attack has been made on 
me... which it is thought I should reply to 
more fully than I have as yet. A very good and 
decisive reason exists for my not making that 
full reply and explanation, and it is time The- 
osophists should know it. It is as follows: 

I have not been furnished with copies of the 
documentary evidence by. which the charges are 
said to be supported . . . open enemies of mine 
have been allowed to make copies of them, and 


*See Chapter XXXITI. 


618 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


also to take facsimiles, but they have been kept 
from me although I have demanded and should 
have them. It must be obvious to all fair-minded 
persons that it is impossible for me to make a 
full and definite reply to the charges without 
having certified copies of them. 

I arrived in London, July 4, 1894, and con- 
stantly, each day, asked for the copies and for 
an inspection of the papers. Mrs. Besant 
promised both, but never performed her 
promise. ... These facts the members should 
know, as they ought, at last, to understand the 
animus under the prosecution. I shall not reply 
until I have full, certified copies. It would seem 
that I am in this matter entitled to as much 
opportunity and consideration as my open 
enemies have had. 


Mrs. Besant was not yet returned home from India, 
so Mr. Mead inserted Mr. Judge’s letter, immediately 
followed by one from Mr. Old in reply to Mr. Judge’s 
contentions. Mr. Old says: 


I beg to show, briefly, that these statements of 
Mr. Judge’s are utterly false, and that Mr. 
Judge is the first person who has ever imputed 
to Mrs. Besant ‘‘the lie direct.’’ 


Mr. Old then quotes from Mrs. Besant’s speech before 
the Adyar Convention, as reprinted in Lucifer for Feb- 
ruary preceding as his ‘‘proof’ that Mr. Judge was ‘‘ut- 
terly false’’! What Mrs. Besant had said was: 


I sent a complete copy of the whole state- 
ment that I proposed to make, to Mr. Judge 
. . . that he might know everything I was going 
to say, every document I was going to use, and 
every argument I was going to employ. 


We have already shown, from Col. Oleott’s letter to 
Mrs. Besant of February 21, news of which had, of course, 
not yet reached England, the admission that copies had 


ATTEMPT TO EXPEL JUDGE 619 


not been furnished Mr. Judge. This very letter of Mr. 
Old’s, its publication in Lucifer, its defense of Mrs. 
Besant’s falsehood by attempting to give the ‘‘lie direct’’ 
to Mr. Judge, and Mr. Mead’s adopting it as his own 
reply as editor of Lucifer to Mr. Judge’s letter, all show 
the collusion steadily existing between Mr. Old and ‘‘his 
own familiar friends.’’ 

In April, 1895, Mrs. Besant, once more on English soil, 
issued her pamphlet, ‘‘The Case Against W. Q. Judge,’’ 
a booklet of eighty-eight pages. The first twenty-two 
pages of this pamphlet are given over to defense of her- 
self, to her usual exhibition of adeptship in special plead- 
ing, and to invective against Mr. Judge. The remainder 
of the pamphlet consists, according to her statement, of 
the charges and evidence as originally prepared for the 
London Enquiry, plus a half dozen pages of additional 
matter. The pamphlet closed with the following: 


NotTICcE 


If some definite action with regard to Mr. 
Judge shall not have been taken by the Euro- 
pean Section before the meeting of its Annual 
Convention in July, we, the undersigned, shall 
—failing any full and satisfactory explanation 
having been made by Mr. Judge before that date, 
or his voluntary secession from the Society— 
propose and second at that Convention the fol- 
lowing resolution: 

Whereas Mr. W. Q. Judge has been called on 
to resign the office of Vice-President of the The- 
osophical Society by the Indian, Australasian, 
and European Sections, but has not complied 
with their request; and 

Whereas he has evaded the jurisdiction of the 
Judicial Committee of July, 1894, refused a 
Jury of Honour, and has since given no full 
and satisfactory explanation to the Society in 
answer to the charges brought against him; 

Resolved: That this Convention of the Euro- 
pean Section of the Theosophical Society unites 


620 


Coincident with the publication of this pamphlet, copy 
was prepared for the May Lucifer in consort therewith. 
This included a letter from Mr. Fullerton dated April 
19, announcing his recantation of the position taken in 
his circular and letter printed in Lucifer for February, 
as noted. In his new communication Mr. Fullerton says, 


THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


with the Indian and Australasian Sections in 
demanding his expulsion from the Society, and 
requests the President-Founder to immediately 
take action to carry out the demands of these 
three Sections of the T.S. 
Anniz Besant, F.TS. 
G.cR Sivan Pass: 


speaking of the ‘‘message’’ first mentioned by him: 


This was a powerful weapon in Mrs. Besant’s hands. 


Of the integrity and moral character of the 
pupil through whom the message came to me 
I have and can have no question. Collusion or 
falsehood is mconcewable. Nevertheless, ut- 
terly unable as I am to understand the case, .. . 
I am obliged to recall any endorsement of the 
proceedings or policy of Mr. Judge. 


She comments: 


Mr. Fullerton has been the steady centre in 
Mr. Judge’s office, ... universally respected 
for his probity and devotion. ... Jt is of the 
first importance to show that honest men can- 
not continue to work with Mr. Judge, unless they 
are prepared to be betrayed behind their backs 
in the work of the Society, and that Mr. Judge’s 
own conduct, and his continued deceptions, force 
us, however reluctantly, to say: ‘‘Mr. Judge 
must be expelled from the Society, for his 
methods are dishonest and he corrupts his fel- 
low-workers.’’ Unless America saves us from 
the necessity of demanding his expulsion, by 
seceding from the parent Society, Europe must 


ATTEMPT TO EXPEL JUDGE 621 


endorse the demand for expulsion coming from 
India and Australasia. 


All this is interesting and instructive as showing the 
animus behind the whole ‘‘ Judge case’’ from the begin- 
ning, however carefully concealed until public avowal 
served to aid the success of the plot. But it is more— 
it is an instructive lesson ‘in how Mrs. Besant writes 
history and dresses the facts for those who trust her. 
For, years afterwards, at Chicago, during the Sectional 
Convention of 1907, in replying to questions addressed to 
her, newly elected President to succeed Col. Olcott, she 
‘‘explained’’ her stand in the ‘‘ Leadbeater case’’ by tell- 
ing her audience: 


No, I have never been in favor of expulsion. 
In the trouble that arose round a great The- 
osophist, Mr. Judge, many years ago, when a 
motion was brought forward in India for his 
expulsion, I opposed it.® 


In addition to the matter to which attention has been 
called, numerous other pamphlets were issued and cir- 
culated among all members in Europe, India and 
Australasia, the most notable being the one by Countess 
Wachtmeister; a great mass of newspaper interviews, 
letters and comments fed the fury and excitement, and 
private correspondence, as with Mr. Fullerton, was kept 
up wherever there was opportunity to arouse doubt, sus- 
picion or fear in the minds of members. The march of 
the assaulting columns having been followed as faithfully 
as possible, it now remains to observe the measures taken 
by the defense. 


*«* Theosophical Lectures,’’ Chicago, 1907, The Rajput Press. 


CHAPTER XXXIV 


THE AMERICAN SECTION DECLARES ITS AUTONOMY AND ELECTS 
JUDGE ITS LIFE-PRESIDENT 


WHEN the Westminster Gazette articles had reached 
their climax and their charges, evidence and conclusions 
had been spread abroad, Mr. Judge wrote a letter to the 
Gazette, dated at New York, November 26, 1894. This 
was published in the New York Sun on December 3, 
and in the Gazette in its issues of December 8 and 10. 
Judge was, of course, well aware that anything he might 
say would serve the Gazette only as so much added ad- 
vertising and be used by it only to animadvert; but he 
had also to consider his duty as Theosophist and Oc- 
cultist not only toward his fellow students who might 
be friendly disposed or temperately minded, but his duty 
as well to those who, however they might be opposed to 
him or engaged in conspiracy against his good name, 
were none the less Souls, and not to be fought with their 
own unfair weapons. He therefore, as before, and as 
H.P.B. before him, limited himself strictly and solely 
to the issues involved. As stated by himself in his note 
to the Swn accompanying the copy of his letter to the 
Gazette: 


These three questions have been raised: (1) 
Have I been hoaxing the Society by ‘‘bogus 
messages from the Mahatmas’’? (2) Are there 
such beings, and what are they? (3) Do the 
prominent Theosophists live by or make money 
out of the Theosophical Society? 


Hixcept that he goes to some extent into the details of 
the various allegations of the Gazette, Mr. Judge does 
not vary from his Statement before the London Con- 

622 


THE AMERICAN SECTION WITHDRAWS 623 


vention of July, 1894. The letter, together with addi- 
tional matter, was printed and circulated in pamphlet 
form, both from London and from New York, under the 
title ‘‘Isis and the Mahatmas.’’ Other pamphlets in de- 
fense of Mr. Judge were issued by Dr. Archibald Keight- 
ley, and others. Documentary and other facts were given 
and attention called to the numerous discrepancies and 
contradictions in the various statements issued by Mrs. 
Besant and Col. Oleott. References were made to similar 
charges against H.P.B. and various citations given 
from her writings, to support both the Theosophical and 
Occult arguments advanced. No bitterness was shown 
and no counter-attacks made, the general position taken 
being simply that the accusers were either suffering from 
‘¢nledge fever,’’ or were misled by appearances. Atten- 
tion was repeatedly called to the fact that every charge 
now made against Mr. Judge had been made, not only 
against him during the life of H.P.B., by Prof. Coues 
and others, but the identical charges also made against 
H.P.B. herself by the Society of Psychical Research 
and Prof. Coues; that the teachings and actions of 
Mr. Judge were in strict accord and consonance with 
the Instructions and other writings of H.P.B., and the 
‘‘messages’’ through him accompanied by the same cir- 
cumstances as those through H.P.B. and Damodar. 
In most of the defensive writings issued by the various 
students stress was laid on all these facts and on the 
other fact that H.P.B.’s highest tributes to Mr. Judge 
had been written during the very period when Col. Ol- 
cott was most bitter against her and Mr. Judge (preced- 
ing the formation of the E.8.T.), and during the height 
of the Coues case, after the New York Sun charges. 
Aside, then, from the E.S.T. Circular of November 
3, 1894, and the ‘‘Isis and the Mahatmas’’ letter, Judge 
gave scant notice to the hail of missiles discharged by 
his attackers within and without the Society, but went 
calmly on with his work. This is shown (1) by the con- 
tents of The Path during those fateful months, in con- 
trast with the other magazines; (2) by the papers and let- 
ters sent out by him to the E..S.T.; (3) by his private, per- 


624 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


sonal letters to his warm friends and adherents. Many 
of these latter will be found in the second volume of the 
‘‘Letters “hat Have Helped Me.’’ Nothing is more won- 
derful than the serenity, the good-will, the wisdom and 
faith exemplified in these letters, written from the heart 
to those who trusted him, who would have followed any 
course set by him. If bitterness, if coldness, if uncharity, 
if evil-mindedness of any kind had been in him—any 
self-pity, any resentment at his accusers—surely it would 
have come out in these intimate letters, written in such 
circumstances, without a thought of their ever being seen 
by any but the recipients. They were not published for 
years after his death. 

Mr. Judge knew as none other the fiery strains and 
pains of the ‘‘path of probation,’’ successful or unsuc- 
cessful though the candidate might be, and had no stones 
to fling. He knew what the real poison was which had 
corrupted the original faith of Mr. Sinnett and Col. Ol- 
cott, and was to corrupt the faith of Mrs. Besant. Thus 
knowing, he: regarded himself as merely the indirect 
target for the real enemies of the Movement, invisible, 
unbelieved in, even by those who were being made the 
tools and therefore the victims of the opposing forces. 
In order, therefore, as much as possible to get the real 
issues before the students at large, he followed up the 
reference in his E..8.T. Cireular of November 3, 1894, 
to the ‘‘plot against the Movement,’’ and to the message 
to the Allahabad Brahmins in the Prayag T.S. in 1881, 
by publishing in The Path for March, 1895, the full text 
of that famous ‘‘message,’’ after all the charges against 
himself had been published and republished the world 
around, and all possible changes rung on them. But first 
a word on the circumstances. 

The ‘‘Prayag Psychic T.S.’’ of Allahabad, India, was 
one of the earliest of the Branches to be formed in India 
after the arrival there of H.P.B. and Col. Olcott in 
1879. Gyanendra N. Chakravarti and his uncle were 
two of its early members; Mr. Sinnett and Mr. Hume 
were prominent in its affairs in its early years. Its 
membership consisted largely of high caste Brahmins and 


THE AMERICAN SECTION WITHDRAWS 625 


it was one of the most influential Branches in India for 
years. It was, so far as we are aware, the only Lodge of 
the Theosophical Society which did not, professedly at 
least, adopt the ‘‘First Object.’’ Its avowed object was 
‘‘nsychical research.’’ During the early days in India 
‘‘messages from the Mahatmas’’ phenomenally received, 
were numerous and large numbers of interested persons 
were thus favored. Complaints were made by the 
Brahmin members of the Prayag T.S. that, whereas ‘‘low 
easte’’ men and ‘‘mlechhas’’ (foreigners) such as Mr. 
Hume, Mr. Sinnett, and other ‘‘beef-eating, wine- 
drinking Englishmen”’ received messages, they had been 
neglected. In time a ‘‘message’’ came, dealing with these 
very complaints and telling why the Brahmins and others 
like them had received no ‘‘messages.’’ There is no dis- 
pute anywhere as to the above facts, nor the further 
fact that the ‘‘message’’ was delivered by H.P.B., to 
Mr. Sinnett to give to the Prayag Brahmin members. 
Damodar (or whoever the ‘‘receiving wire’? may 
have been) was manifestly no English scholar at that 
time, and of the Mahatmas Themselves only one was 
named as having any knowledge of English. Thus the 
‘‘message’’ was, in form, in distinctly babu English. 
Neither the ‘‘sending’’ Mahatma nor the ‘‘receiving’’ 
chela was known to anyone except H.P.B., on whom, 
therefore, all the responsibility of the ‘‘message’’ rests: 
this by all accounts. We give the ‘‘message’’ in full as 
published in The Path from a copy sent by one of those 
very Brahmins to Mr. Judge in 1893. The original ‘‘mes- 
sage’’ was retained by Mr. Sinnett.! 


Message which Mr. Sinnett is directed by one 
of the Brothers, writing through Madame 
B(lavatsky), to convey to the native members 
of the Prayag Branch of the Theosophical 
Society. 

The Brothers desire me to inform one and all 
of you natives that unless a man is prepared to 

The original text of the ‘‘Prayag Letter’’ has now been made ac- 


cessible to students in No, CLXXXIV of ‘‘The Mahatma Letters to A. P. 
Sinnett.’’ 


626 


THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


become a thorough Theosophist, 2.e., to do what 
D(ainodar) Mavalankar did—give up entirely 
easte, his old superstitions, and show himself a 
true reformer (especially in the case of child 
marriage), he will remain simply a member 
of the Society, with no hope whatever of ever 
hearing from us. The Society, acting in this di- 
rectly in accord with our orders, forces no one 
to become a Theosophist of the Second Section. 
It is left with himself at his choice. It is use- 
less for a member to argue ‘‘I am one of a pure 
life, I am a teetotaller and an abstainer from 
meat and vice, all my aspirations are for good, 
ete.,’? and he at the same time building by his 
acts and deeds an impassable barrier on the road 
between himself and us. What have we, the 
disciples of the Arhats of Esoteric Buddhism 
and of Sang-gyas, to do with the Shasters and 
orthodox Brahmanism? There are 100 of 
thousands of Fakirs, Sannyasis, or Sadhus lead- 
ing the most pure lives and yet being, as they 
are, on the path of error never having had an 
opportunity to meet, see, or even hear of us. 
Their forefathers have driven the followers of 
the only true philosophy upon earth away from 
India, and now it is not for the latter to come 
to them, but for them to come to us, if they want 
us. Which of them is ready to become a Budd- 
hist, a Nastika, as they callus? Those who have 
believed and followed us have had their reward. 
Mr. Sinnett and Mr. Hume are exceptions. Their 
beliefs are no barrier to us, for they have none. 
They may have bad influences around them, bad 
magnetic emanations, the result of drink, so- 
ciety, and promiscuous physical associations 
(resulting even from shaking hands with im- 
pure men), but all this is physical and material 
impediments which with a little effort we could 
counteract, and even clear away, without much 
detriment to ourselves. Not so with the mag- 


THE AMERICAN SECTION WITHDRAWS 627 


netic and invisible results proceeding from er- 
roneous and sincere beliefs. Faith in the gods 
or god and other superstition attracts millions 
of foreign influences, living entities and power- 
ful Agents round them, with which we would 
have to use more than ordinary exercise of power 
to drive them away. We do not choose to do so. 
We do not find it either necessary or profitable 
to lose our time waging war on the unprogressed 
planetaries who delight in personating gods and 
sometimes well-known characters who have lived 
on earth. There are Dhyan Chohans and Cho- 
hans of darkness. Not what they term devils, 
but imperfect intelligences who have never been 
born on this or any other earth or sphere no 
more than the Dhyan Chohans have, and who 
will never belong to the ‘‘Children of the Uni- 
verse,’’ the pure planetary intelligences who 
preside at every Manvantara, while the Dark 
Chohans preside at the Pralaya. 


Mr. Judge declares: ‘‘this is a genuine message from 
the Master, allowing, of course, for any minor errors in 
copying.’’ He goes on—what he very well knew but 
which then had not been publicly avowed by her—that 
‘‘Mrs. Besant has several times privately stated that in 
her opinion’’ the message ‘‘was a ‘forgery or humbug’ 
gotten up by H.P.B.’’ He adds: 


If it be shown to be a fraud, then all of 
H.P.B.’s claims of connection with and teaching 
from the Master must fall to the ground. It is 

now time that this important point be cleared 


up. 


Mrs. Besant, Col. Olcott, Mr. Sinnett, and all the rest, 
had sedulously, before the public, kept up the mask of 
devotion to H.P.B. in all the campaign against Mr. 
Judge, and had charged him over and over again with 
being false to H.P.B. as to the Masters and the Society. 
He knew what their real opinion of H.P.B. was—the 


628 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


same as their opinion in regard to himself—but knew 
also that very many students quite innocently and sin- 
cerely believed the public protestations of loyalty to 
H.P.B. to be genuine. So, to place the matter squarely 
before all, and to ‘‘bring to light the hidden things of 
darkness,’’ he published the ‘‘ Prayag message”’ and sent, 
as usual, advance proof sheets to Lucifer and to The The- 
osophist. The answer was prompt and characteristic in 
all three cases—Mr. Sinnett, Mrs. Besant, and Col. Olcott. 

Mr. Sinnett kept still; not a word publicly from him, 
but a private letter to Mr. Fullerton which the latter, 
unknown to Mr. Sinnett, gave to the Boston Herald for 
publication on April 27, 1895. 

Mrs. Besant, in addition to the extracts quoted earlier,? 
said: ‘‘I do not regard the letter [message] as genuine, 
but I have never attributed tt to H.P.B.”’ 

As the only responsible person connected with the 
‘““message’’ was H.P.B., this statement of Mrs. Besant’s 
was more ingenious than ingenuous. Furthermore, she 
proceeded to charge Mr. Judge himself with doubting 
the genumneness of the message! (Lucifer, Volume 16, 
pp. 185-94, 375-9.) 

The advance proofs of The Path reached Adyar just 
as Ihe Theosophist was going to press with the April 
number, the ‘‘Supplement’’ of which, as noted, contained 
the interchange of the letters of January 20 and Febru- 
ary 21 between Mrs. Besant and Col. Olcott. This is 
what he wrote: 


‘¢PosTSCRIPT’’ 


We stop the press to make room for some 
needed comments on an article by Mr. Judge in 
the March number of The Path, of which ad- 
vance proofs have been kindly sent us from 
New York. ... The message is one of the most 
transparently unconvincing in the history of 
Mahatmie literature. It-bears upon its face the 
seal of its condemnation. It is an ill-tempered 


7See Chapter XXXI. 


THE AMERICAN SECTION WITHDRAWS 


attack ... Mr. Judge asserts that ‘‘this is a 
genuine message from the Masters, allowing, of 
course, for minor errors m copying’’; and 
concludes his comments on the document by say- 
ing: ‘‘ ... if it be shown to be a fraud, then all 
of H.P.B.’s claims of connection with and teach- 
ing from the Master must fall to the ground. It 
is now time that this important point be cleared 
aap 

It certainly is time; and . . . the undersigned 

. will help towards the clearing up so far as 
he can. He picks up the gauntlet for the honor 
of the Masters and the benefit of the Society. 

In so many words, then, he pronounces the 
message a false one, and if this is lkely to 
shatter H.P.B.’s oft-declared infallibility, as the 
transmitter of only genuine messages from the 
Masters, so let it be; the sooner the monstrous 
pretense is upset the better for her memory and 
a noble cause. ... it does not follow that H.P.B. 
consciously falsified; the simple theory of me- 
diumship has explained many equally deceptive 
and even more exasperating messages from 
the invisible world: and she herself has writ- 
ten and said to the spy Solovyoff, that at times 
she was possessed by evil influences. We know 
all the weight that such a suggestion carries, and 
yet repeat it in the full conviction that the dis- 
coveries of hypnotic science have already fur- 
nished proof of its entire reasonableness. 

The putative ‘‘message,’’ moreover, grossly 
violates that basic principle of neutrality and 
eclecticism on which the Theosophical Society 
has built itself up from the beginning ; and which 
the self-sacrificing action of the Judicial Com- 
mittee, at London last summer, vindicated, to 
the satisfaction of all the Sections. ... The 
moment that the dogma is established that the 
genuineness of H.P.B.’s series of Mahatmas 
letters depends upon the acceptance of such a 


629 


630 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


fraud as the above, the Society will have to find 
another President, for it would soon become the 
game-preserve of rogues. 

H. 8S. Otcorr. 
Adyar, March 27, 1895. | 


What Mr. Sinnett wrote privately was, as stated, pub- 
lished in the Boston Herald on April 27, 1895, the day 
before the meeting in Boston of the Convention of the 
American Section. He wrote as follows: 


... 1 have known for a great many years 
that many letters in the Mahatmas’ handwrit- 
ing, coming through Madame Blavatsky herself 
were anything but what they seemed. 

The trouble in this respect began about the 
year 1887, when Madame Blavatsky was in this 
country [Kingland] and desirous of carrying out 
many arrangements with the society in London 
of which I personally disapproved. ‘To my sur- 
prise I received through her letters in the fa- 
miliar handwriting of the Mahatma K. H. which 
endorsed her views and desired my compliance. 
These gave me great distress at the time, though 
I did not at first suspect the bona fides of the 
origin. : 

The flavour of their style was unlike that to 
which I had been used during the long course 
of my previous correspondence with the Ma- 
hatma, and gradually my mind was forced to the 
conviction that they could not be really au- 
thentic. A year or so later, when the Coulomb 
scandal had for the moment almost overwhelmed 
Madame Blavatsky’s influence here, I visited her 
in her retirement at Wtrzburg, and in the inti- 
mate conversation that ensued she frankly 
avowed to me that the letters to which I have 
above referred had not proceeded from the Ma- 
hatma at all. 

She had in fact procured their production in 
order to subserve what she conceived to be the 


THE AMERICAN SECTION WITHDRAWS 631 


right policy of the society at the time—falling 
into the fatal error of doing evil that good might 
come. There is no room for supposing that I am 
mistaken in my recollections of what passed. 
These are clear and definite, and were the sub- 
ject of much conversation between myself and 
theosophical friends at the time. 

Moreover, at a somewhat later date, when 
Madame Blavatsky was staying at Ostende, I 
again referred to the matter, and said that I con- 
sidered myself to have been hardly used, in so 
far as my deepest sentiments of loyalty to the 
Mahatma had been practiced upon for purposes 
with which he had nothing to do. Madame Bla- 
vatsky, I remember, replied: ‘‘ Well, you were 
not much hurt, because, after all, you never be- 
lieved the letters were genuine... .’’ 


The last article written by Mr. Judge before his death 
in March, 1896, was entitled ‘‘H.P.B. was not Deserted 
by Masters.’’ This was a dying declaration of the good 
faith, the genuineness, the nature, and the mission of 
H.P.B. In it Mr. Judge wrote that Mr. Sinnett had 
taxed H.P.B. with fraud in London during her lifetime. 
This was published in The Path (under its new name of 
Theosophy) in April, 1896, immediately after Mr. Judge’s 
death. When the copies reached England Mr. Sinnett 
wrote a letter to the magazine, dated at London May 6, 
1896, in which he said in reference to Mr. Judge’s 
statement: 


I never said anything of the kind, and I never 
in my life called Mme. Blavatsky a fraud. 

The accusation is doubly absurd because for 
many years past and since before the period re- 
ferred to I have had means of my own for know- 
ing that Mme. Blavatsky had not been de- 
serted by the Masters, and I know that she was 
in their care up to the last day of her life... . 

I merely write now to dissipate the delusion 
on which Mr. Judge’s article is founded, and to 


632 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


express at the same time my regret that his 
latest utterances concerning myself should have 
been colored by stories as to my sayings and 
mental attitude that were entirely untrue. 


We may add that in course of the preparation and 
authentication of the materials for this History, the 
present writers wrote to Mr. Sinnett at London in 1915, 
sending him a certified copy of the letter published in 
the Boston Herald, and asking him to verify the accuracy 
of the printed text. In reply Mr. Sinnett sent an auto- 
oraph letter to the writers, admitting the correctness of 
the publication—and adding that he regretted the bring: 
ing up of these ‘‘old matters,’’ saying, ‘‘I have long since 
forgwen Madame Blavatsky and Mr. Judge for the 
wrongs they did me.’’ Mr. Sinnett’s posthumous book, 
‘‘The Early Days of Theosophy in HKurope,’’ published 
in 1922, at last publicly avows his actual feelings from 
1881 onwards and readers are referred to that work to 
learn the amazing lengths to which Mr. Sinnett’s ‘‘mes- 
sages’’ through his ‘‘sensitives’’ led him. 

To return. The Convention of the American Section 
was held at Boston, April 28 and 29, 1895. That which 
was hidden had been brought to light; that which had 
been obscurely circulated for many years against the 
good faith of H.P.B. by those who posed before the 
public and the Society as her true students and loyal 
supporters, had been forced to be said publicly. Every 
student, every member of the Society and of the .S.T. 
knew, or could easily learn, the facts—naked, unmasked, 
at last: that the charges against Judge were the same 
charges, resting upon the same ‘‘evidence,’’ made and 
sponsored by the same persons, as the charges against 
H.P.B. The issues were clear, the war of ideas squarely 
before the Society and its members. They could choose 
H.P.B. and Mr. Judge; they could choose Mr. Sinnett, 
Mrs. Besant, Col. Olcott—one party or the other as 
‘‘representing the Masters’’; they could not choose 
both. | 

The eighty-nine active Lodges composing the Section 


THE AMERICAN SECTION WITHDRAWS 633 


were all represented in full by delegates in person or 
by proxy. In addition there was a great gathering of 
visiting Fellows from all over the United States and 
some from abroad. Dr. J.D. Buck was elected permanent 
Chairman. Dr. Archibald Keightley was present from 
London as the delegate of a number of English Branches. 
A letter from a number of Fellows in Australia was 
read, as also an official letter from Mr. G. R. S. Mead, 
as General Secretary of the HKuropean Section. Mr. 
Mead wrote to say: 


It is with deep regret that I have to inform 
you that the European Section of the Society is 
unable to be represented at your Convention by 
a Delegate, owing to divided opinions with re- 
gard to the present crisis through which the So- 
ciety is passing... . 


There was no letter or other communication received 
either from the Indian Section or from the President- 
Founder. 

Mr. Judge’s report as General Secretary contained the 
usual information on the work of the preceding year. 
It contained a brief rehearsal of the charges made against 
him, the meeting of the Judicial Committee the preced- 
ing July, the Westminster Gazette articles, the subse- 
quent proceedings at the Adyar Conventions, and the 
various resolutions adopted demanding his ‘‘resigna- 
tion’’ and an ‘‘explanation.’’ On all this his report says: 


.-.I1 have replied, refusing to resign the 
Vice-Presidency. And to the newspaper attack 
I have made a provisional and partial reply, as 
much as such a lying and sensational paper de- 
served. ... But I have an explanation, and I 
renew my declaration of innocence of the of- 
fenses charged. As I have said in London and 
since, the messages I delivered, privately, are 
genuine messages from the Master, procured 
through me as a channel, and the basis of the 
attack on me is unbelief in my being a channel. 


634 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


The usual work of the Convention proceeded and when 
all routine matters were concluded, Mr. C. A. Griscom, 
Jr., read a series of resolutions, with a preamble reciting 
the difficulties and obstacles of the continued work of 
the Movement. The essential resolutions were: 


First, that the American Section, consisting of 
Branches of the Theosophical Society in Amer- 
ica, in convention assembled, hereby assumes 
and declares its entire autonomy and that it 
shall be called from and after this date ‘‘The 
Theosophical Society in America’’; 

Second, that the administration of its affairs 
shall be provided for, defined, and be under a 
Constitution and By-Laws, which shall in any 
ease provide for the following: 

(a) A Federation of Branches... . 

(b) That William Q. Judge shall be President 
LOT Nese Ts 

Resotvep, that the Theosophical Society in 
America hereby recognizes the long and effi- 
cient services rendered to the Theosophical 
Movement by Col. H. S. Olcott and that to him 
belongs the unique and honorary title of Presi- 
dent-Founder of the Theosophical Society, and 
that, as in the case of H.P.B. as Corresponding 
Secretary, he can have no successor in that 
office. 


The First Session of the Convention then adjourned. 
At the Second Session debate was had upon the resolu- 
tion as indicated. <A historical sketch of the Society 
was submitted, showing its de facto and nominal nature 
as a single Society since 1879. Speeches were made by 
Mr. Fullerton, and by Dr. J. W. B. LaPierre, President 
of the Minneapolis Lodge—both strongly opposing the 
adoption of the resolutions. The speeches in opposition 
were listened to with close attention and entire respect 
for the speakers. Dr. LaPierre’s speech included a writ- 
ten Protest. In fact, the bulk of the time was occupied 
by the speakers in opposition to the resolutions, and 


THE AMERICAN SECTION WITHDRAWS 635 


their remarks are given in full in the Convention official 
Report. At the conclusion the list of Branches and Coun- 
cillors was called and a formal vote taken. The totals 
showed 191 votes in favor of the resolutions and 10 
against. 

Thus did the ‘‘American Section of the T.S.,’’ cease 
to exist, to reorganize as ‘‘The Theosophical Society in 
America.’’ : 

After the close of this Second Session of April 28, 
Dr. Keightley read a detailed Reply by Mr. Judge to 
the charges of misusing the names and handwritings of 
the Mahatmas. This Reply was afterwards printed in 
pamphlet form. 

Two sessions were held on April 29 as the T.S. in A.; 
a Constitution and By-Laws were adopted; officers and 
an Executive Committee elected. The following letter 
from the Executive Committee of the newly organized 
Theosophical Society in America, and signed by Mr. 
Judge as its President, was sent to the Convention of the 
European Section: 


From the Theosophical Society in America to 
the European Theosophists, in Convention as- 
sembled as, ‘‘The European Section of the The- 
osophical Soctety.”’ 

BrRoTrHERS AND SisteRS: We send you our fra- 
ternal greeting, and fullest sympathy in all 
works sincerely sought to be performed for the 
good of Humanity. Separated though we are 
from you by very great distance we are none the 
less certain that you and we, as well as all other 
congregations of people who love Brotherhood, 
are parts of that great whole denominated The 
Theosophical Movement, which bégan far back 
in the night of Time and has since been moving’ 
through many and various peoples, places and 
environments. That grand work does not de- 
pend upon forms, ceremonies, particular per- 
sons or set organizations,—‘‘Its unity through- 
out the world does not consist in the existence 


636 


THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


and action of any single organization, but de- 
pends upon the similarity of work and aspira- 
tion of those in the world who are working for 
it.’? Hence organizations of theosophists must 
vary and change in accordance with place, time, 
exigency and people. To hold that in and by a 
sole organization for the whole world is the only 
way to work would be boyish in conception and 
not in accord with experience or nature’s laws. 

Recognizing the foregoing, we, who were once 
the body called The American Section of the 
T.S., resolved to make our organization, or 
merely outer form for government and admin- 
istration, entirely free and independent of all 
others; but retained our theosophical ideals, as- 
pirations, aims and objects, continuing to be a 
part of the theosophical movement. This change 
was an inevitable one, and perhaps will ere long 
be made also by you as well as by others. It has 
been and will be forced, as it were, by nature it- 
self under the sway of the irresistible law of hu- 
man development and progress. 

But while the change would have been made be- 
fore many years by us as an inevitable and logi- 
cal development, we have to admit that it was 
hastened by reason of what we considered to be 
strife, bitterness and anger existing in other 
Sections of the Theosophical world which were 
preventing us from doing our best work in the 
field assigned us by Karma. In order to more 
quickly free ourself from these obstructions we 
made the change in this, instead of in some later, 
year. It is, then, a mere matter of government 
and has nothing to do with theosophical propa- 
ganda and ethics, except that it will enable us to 
do more and better work. 

Therefore we come to you as fellow-students 
and workers in the field of theosophical effort, 
and holding out the hand of fellowship we again 
declare the complete unity of all theosophical 


THE AMERICAN SECTION WITHDRAWS 


workers in every part of the world. This you 
surely cannot and will not reject from heated, 
rashly conceived counsels, or from personalities 
indulged in by anyone, or from any cause what- 
ever. To reject the proffer would mean that you 
reject and nullify the principle of Universal 
Brotherhood upon which alone all true the- 
osophical work is based. And we could not in- 
dulge in those reflections nor put forward that 
reason but for the knowledge that certain per- 
sons of weight and prominence in your ranks 
have given utterance hastily to expressions of 
pleasure that our change of government above 
referred to has freed them from nearly every 
one of the thousands of earnest, studious and 
enthusiastic workers in our American group 
of Theosophical Societies. This injudicious 
and untheosophical attitude we cannot attri- 
bute to the whole or to any majority of your 
workers. 

Let us then press forward together in the 
great work of the real Theosophical Movement 
which is aided by working organizations, but is 
above them all. Together we can devise more 
and better ways for spreading the light of truth 
through all the earth. Mutually assisting and 
encouraging one another we may learn how to 
put Theosophy into practice so as to be able to 
teach and enforce it by example before others. 
We will then each and all be members of that 
Universal Lodge of Free and Independent The- 
osophists which embraces every friend of the hu- 
man race. And to all this we beg your corporate 
official answer for our more definite and certain 
information, and to the end that this and your fa- 
vorable reply may remain as evidence and monu- 
ments between us. 

Fraternally yours, 
Wituram Q. Jupce, 
President. 


637 


638 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


Upon the simple principle that the integrity of the 
Theosophical Movement was paramount to the organ- 
izational unity of the Theosophical Society when its com- 
ponent elements were a house irreconcilably divided 
against itself, the action of the Boston Convention was 
a logical as well as an inevitable necessity. Regardless 
of the merits of the contending forces all but the most 
bigoted could see that two or more organizations at one 
upon ideals and at peace upon externalities were in- 
finitely nearer to the practical possibility of fraternity, 
the prime proclaimed object of all. The Letter thus 
drawn up was a concrete expression of these ideas, and 
for that reason was addressed to the ‘‘Huropean The- 
osophists in Convention assembled,’’ not to the ‘‘ Conven- 
tion.’’ For the hopes and good wishes therein expressed, 
there was, in addition, ample ground both in the matter 
of precedent and in the statements of H.P.B. and Col. 
Olcott himself. For the T.S. had very early been in 
cordial affiliation and alliance with the Arya Somaj, an 
entirely separate organization; the London Lodge under 
Mr. Sinnett’s guidance had in 1891 definitely and offi- 
cially declared its own organizational independence of 
the T.S., had refused to have anything whatever to do 
with its official proceedings or procedure, while express- 
ing a similar attitude toward both the T.S. and the 
President-Founder, and this action of the London Lodge 
had been received and accepted without protest by the 
Huropean Convention in July, immediately following the 
death of H.P.B., and with the President-Founder in the 
chair; Col. Oleott had accepted the self-declared official 
independence of the ‘‘Theosophical Society in Europe,’’ 
with H.P.B., as its President in the summer of 1890, 
under circumstances so nearly parallel as to be prac- 
tically identical; and he had formally and officially ‘‘au- 
thorized’’ the so-called ‘‘ Hsoterie Section’’ or ‘‘ Hsoteric 
School,’’—an independent body within the T.S., a body, 
moreover, over which he had absolutely no control and 
which had been formed by H.P.B. expressly and de- 
claredly because the T.S. was, in her opinion, ‘‘a dead 
failure’? and a ‘‘sham.’’ In her famous ‘‘ Puzzle From 


THE AMERICAN SECTION WITHDRAWS 639 


Adyar’’ article she had publicly declared: ‘‘There is no 
longer a ‘Parent Society’; it is abolished and replaced by 
an aggregate body of Theosophical Societies, all autono- 
mous.’’ Colonel Olcott had directly stated, on the oc- 
casion of that struggle: ‘‘If you want separate So- 
cieties, have them by all means’’; and during the very 
course of the ‘‘ Judge case’’ itself, his Presidential Ad- 
dress at the Adyar Convention in December, 1894, had 
clearly shown that he anticipated the very action taken 
by the Boston Convention, while his letters to Judge 
and others during the months succeeding that Address 
plainly indicated that he would officially recognize any 
action the Boston Convention might take, and continue 
in amity and harmony in the work of the Theosophical 
Movement with his former associates in the new Society. 

The President-Founder touched at Zumarraga, Spain, 
on his way to attend the Convention of the Kuropean 
Section at London. There he received the various docu- 
ments apprising him of the proceedings of the Boston 
Convention, as well as the news of the various activities 
of his associates in the ‘‘case against W. Q. Judge.’’ He 
at once issued an ‘‘Eixecutive Notice,’’? formally ad- 
mitting that ‘‘the American Section, exercising its in- 
disputable right, in lawful Convention assembled,’’ had 
declared itself completely autonomous and ‘‘has thus as 
effectually broken its relation with the Theosophical 
Society as the United States of America did their col- 
onial relations with Great Britain on July 4, 1776.’’ 
After arguing the question of the de jure or de facto ex- 
istence of the T.S., the Executive Notice concludes as 
follows: 


While it would have been better if the work in 
hand could have been continued as heretofore 
in a spirit of unity and mutual reliance, yet the 
undersigned considers that a separation like the 
present one was far more prudent than the per- 
petuation of ill-feeling and disunity within our 
ranks by causes too well known to need special 
reference. The undersigned offers to his late 


640 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


American colleagues his best private and official 
wishes for the prosperity, usefulness and hon- 
ourable management of their new Society. 
HeS.OLcort, 
President-Founder of the Theosophical Society. 


Apart from the manifest fact that there was in the 
mind of Col. Olcott no consciousness that the disunity 
and the separation had been caused and forced by him- 
self and Mrs. Besant, the closing sentences of his Eixecu- 
tive Notice expressed in words the same ideas as were 
embodied in the Letter from the T.S.A. to the ‘‘ Huro- 
pean Theosophists in Convention assembled.’’ How far 
his words were representative of his actual intentions and 
determination is shown by the course taken at the Con- 
vention of the British-Kuropean Section. 

That Convention met at London on July 4, 1895—nota- 
ble date—with the President-Founder in the chair. Colo- 
nel Olcott formally advised the Convention of the re- 
ceipt of the Letter from the T.S.A., but refused to place 
it before the Convention, saying: ‘‘I declare the thing 
out of order and not admissible.’’ 

A sharp discussion ensued, various delegates oppos- 
ing both the spirit and the decision of the President- 
Founder. Mrs. Besant then made a characteristic speech, 
concluding: 


I would ask you (if the President-Founder 
would be good enough to waive his perfectly 
just and legal ruling) to allow the letter to be 
read, and then let it lie on the table, passing it 
over in absolute silence so to speak. 


A motion to that effect was made by Mrs. Besant, 
seconded, and carried. Colonel Olcott then read the 
Letter to the Convention. Mr. Fred J. Dick of the Dub- 
lin Lodge at once moved: ‘‘That this Convention do re- 
ceive the communication with pleasure and do draft a 
reply thereto.’’ 

This was seconded, but at once a hot debate ensued, 
for to have adopted it would have been to accept the 


THE AMERICAN SECTION WITHDRAWS 641 


olive branch tendered from the new society. Mrs. Be- 
sant therefore moved as an amendment: ‘‘That the let- 
ter do lie upon the table.’’ 

Oliver Firth seconded Mrs. Besant’s amendment. 
The amendment was carried—39 to 13—and accordingly 
the letter was ‘‘laid on the table’’ and the American 
overtures rejected. 

Thereupon Mr. EK. T. Hargrove, one of the delegates, 
rose to a ‘‘question of privilege’’ and said that the treat- 
ment given by the Convention to the Letter from the 
T.S.A. was not only an ignominious refusal of proffered 
amity but the official abandonment by the large major- 
ity of the European Section of the fundamental princi- 
ple of all Theosophical work—brotherhood. He called 
upon all who took this view to leave the hall. Accord- 
ingly a third of the delegates and visiting Fellows re- 
tired and proceeded to take steps to organize a ‘‘The- 
osophical Society in England’’ in affiliation with the 
T.S.A. 

The Convention of the European Section continued its 
session and before adjourning adopted the following 
Resolution: 


Resolved: That this Convention regrets that 
the Theosophical Society in America should 
have addressed to it a letter of greeting con- 
taining much contentious matter, and in a form 
which makes it impossible to accept it officially, 
yet the delegates wish to assure their late col- 
leagues in America of their hearty sympathy in 
all matters pertaining to the true principles of 
Theosophy and Universal Brotherhood. 


During the session of the Convention the President- 
Founder, in the chair, welcomed to its sessions Dr. Mary 
Weeks Burnett who had come over from the United 
States on behalf of Mr. Fullerton, Dr. LaPierre, herself, 
and other dissenters from the action taken by the Bos- 
ton Convention. At the request of Col. Olcott, Dr. Weeks 
read a formal letter from these, declaring allegiance to 


642 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


the President-Founder, to the T.S., and repudiating the 
aS 2A. 

The President-Founder appointed Mr. Fullerton Gen- 
eral Secretary of an ‘‘American Section’’ of the The- 
osophical Society to be formed; announced that all for- 
mer F.T.S. and all former Lodges and Branches must 
choose between the T.S. and the T.S. in A., and that all 
accepting the action of the Boston Convention would, 
ipso facto, forfeit all connection with the T.S.—all Char- 
ters revoked and all Diplomas of Fellowship canceled. 
He appointed Mr. Sinnett Vice-President of the T.S. 
in lieu of Mr. Judge, declaring that Mr. Judge had ‘‘by 
his own act lost his membership in the Society.’’ 

Thereafter Col. Olcott, Mrs. Besant, Mr. Sinnett, and 
all those under their influence continually spoke and 
wrote of the ‘‘secession’’ of the American Section, and 
of their former associates as ‘‘seceders.’’ Mr. Judge was 
continuously referred to as a former devoted Theoso- 
phist who had ‘‘gone wrong,’’ and as a ‘‘forger’’; those 
who believed in him as deceived and deluded. 

Thus perished all hopes that the two societies might 
proceed in emulation, not rivalry; in peace, not contro- 
versies and antagonisms. 

We promised to show, over their own signatures, that 
the ‘‘case against Judge’’ began to take on the aspects 
of an organized secret conspiracy as far back as the be- 
ginning of 1893, while yet all the participants were main- 
taining publicly toward Mr. Judge an attitude of the most 
cordial co-operation and confidence, and while privately 
maintaining all the appearances of intimate friendship 
and trust. This has already been abundantly done in 
respect of Mrs. Besant and others. In Col. Oleott’s case 
it is certified by one of the documents included in Mrs. 
Besant’s ‘‘Case Against W. Q. Judge’’—the document 
relating to the ‘‘Panjab Seal.’’ Though the ‘‘Case 
Against W. Q. Judge’’ was not published until April, 
1895, the document in question was given by Col. Olcott 
to Mrs. Besant at the midnight conference at Adyar on 
Christmas, 1893. The document bore the signature of 
Col. Olcott, and the date, January 28, 1893. 


THE AMERICAN SECTION WITHDRAWS 643 


This leads to a consideration of the two things on which 
the whole ‘‘Judge case’’ rests for its ‘‘evidence’’ of 
bogus messages, which seemed so convincing to Col. 
Olcott, Mrs. Besant, and others, after Chakravarti and 
other Brahmins had played on the prospective tools (or 
victims, as one wills). First let it be understood that it 
is the clear and undisputed fact that the ‘‘Judge mes- 
sages’’ were unique in two respects as compared with 
all the wide range of ‘‘messages’’ received through 
numerous ‘‘psychics’’ after H.P.B.’s death: (1) some 
of them bore a ‘‘seal’’; (2) they were all in the hand- 
writings attributed from 1870 to 1891 to the ‘‘precipita- 
tions’’ of the Masters ‘‘M’’ and ‘‘K. H.’’ It was the 
messages received through H.P.B. that Mr. Hodgson, 
the Committee of the Society for Psychical Research, 
their two handwriting experts, Mr. Sims and Mr. Nether- 
celift, and numerous others, attributed to the ‘‘forgery’’ 
of H.P.B. herself and Damodar. 

Had it not been for the ‘‘seal’’ and the ‘‘handwrit- 
ings’’ there would have been no ‘‘ Judge case’’; for, al- 
though six ‘‘Charges and Specifications’? were drawn 
up, Mrs. Besant herself in her Statement before the 
London Convention, July 12, 1894, said plainly that the 
chief and only real ground for the ‘‘charges’’ was the 
‘‘misleading form’’ of the Judge messages, and herself 
affirmed her belief that the ‘‘messages’’ were, as to fact 
and substance, genuine. 

I. It is known that a ‘‘seal’’ appeared on messages 
very early; Dr. Franz Hartmann speaks of it in his 
‘‘Report of Observations,’’ at Adyar—a pamphlet issued 
in September, 1884; the testimony in ‘‘The Case Against 
W. Q. Judge,’’ recites the ‘‘seal’’ on various messages 
received during the lifetime of H.P.B., notably one re- 
ceived by Mr. Bertram Keightley at New York in 1890; 
and, finally, as we shall quickly show, was testified to 
by Mrs. Besant, Countess Wachtmeister, and others, as 
having been seen by them on messages received through 
eE Be 

II. As to the ‘‘Panjab Seal’’ itself, around which 
the ‘‘ Judge case’’ hinged in connection with the hand- 


644 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


writing problem. According to Col. Olcott’s ‘‘State- 
ment’’ in ‘‘The Case Against W. Q. Judge,’’ he bought, 
in 1883, a ‘‘seal’’ in imitation of the Master ‘‘M’s”’ 
‘‘eryptograph,’’ and this imitation ‘‘seal’’ he gave to 
H.P.B. According to Mr. Bertram Keightley’s ‘‘State- 
ment’’ he first saw this ‘‘seal’’ in 1888; H.P.B., being ill, 
asked him to get out for her ‘‘a small box containing 
some of her ‘occult possessions’ ’’—the phrase ‘‘occult 
possessions’’ being used by Mr. Keightley in quotes in 
such manner as to give the impression that the words 
were H.P.B.?s, not his own. He opened the box at her 
request, and among other things saw this ‘‘seal.’’ On 
his asking her what it was, she replied, as he gives her 
words: ‘‘Oh, it is only a flapdoodle of Olcott’s.’’ Keight- 
ley says that the resemblance of this ‘‘seal’’ to Mahatma 
‘*M’s’’ ‘‘eryptograph’’ caused him, in connection with 
H.P.B.’s remark, to examine it closely and ‘‘to photo- 
eraph it very strongly on my memory.’’ So strongly, 
according to him, that when he received the message in 
New York in 1890 (during H.P.B.’s lifetime), he noted 
a ‘‘seal impression like the one I had seen with H.P.B.’’ 
The message was received in Mr. Judge’s office on a 
cablegram sent to Mr. Judge and therefore opened by 
Judge,—as Mr. Keightley had given Judge’s name and 
address for the receipt of cables to himself. Mr. 
Keightley goes on: ‘‘I thereupon asked Judge if he 
had put the seal there; to this he replied that he knew 
nothing about it.”’ Mr. Keightley seems never to have 
asked H.P.B. about this ‘‘seal impression’’—or if he 
did he says nothing of it. Nor does he mention that 
the cablegram itself—on which the ‘‘precipitated seal’’ 
and message occurred—was from H.P.B., and it is the 
statement of Mr. Claude Falls Wright, another of the 
original ‘‘Inner Group,’’ who was present at the time, 
that on the night of Mr. Bertram Keightley’s return to 
London from America in the summer of 1890, H.P.B. 
questioned Mr. Keightley about her telegram to him, and 
when he said he had lost it, she produced the identical 
telegram, seal, message and all, before las eyes,—and 
then chided him ‘‘for losing things’’! 


THE AMERICAN SECTION WITHDRAWS 645 


After the date 1888, note well, there is no evidence of 
anyone ever having seen the ‘‘seal’’ itself; no evidence 
of what became of it; but it was not among H.P.B.’s 
possessions after her death when those were searched 
and examined. There was not then, and there never 
was, anything whatever to connect Mr. Judge with the 
possession of this ‘‘Panjab seal.’’ 

In August, 1891, The Path, as narrated, published © 
an article by ‘‘Jasper Niemand,’’ then unknown as an 
identity, beginning with a ‘‘message from the Master,’’ 
alleged by the, writer to have been received-after the 
death of H.P.B., and ‘‘attested by His real seal.’’* We 
have earlier called attention to this word ‘‘real’’ in con- 
nection with the ‘‘seal.’’ Colonel Olcott wrote Mr. Judge, 
as told, and Mr. Judge replied with the ‘‘Interesting 
letter’’ published later on by Mrs. Besant in Lucifer for 
April, 1893. In that letter Mr. Judge tells Col. Olcott 
he ‘‘knows nothing about’’ the ‘‘seal’’—meaning thereby 
the ‘‘Panjab Seal.’’ That, to Col. Oleott’s suspicious 
mind, was proof positive that Mr. Judge had in some 
way gotten hold of the imitation seal and was using it to 
bolster bogus messages being produced by Mr. Judge 
to attract attention to himself as ‘‘ Master’s agent.’’ No 
other explanation ever occurred to Col. Olcott or to any 
of the others. When Mr. Judge denied that he had any- 
thing to do with the ‘‘ Jasper Niemand’’ message, Col. 
Olcott could only think Mr. Judge was lying to escape 
an impasse. He exchanged confidences with Mr. Walter 
R. Old, who had been a member of the E.S.T. Council 
and present at the Avenue Road Meeting of May 27, 
1891, when the ‘‘W. Q. Judge’s plan is right’’ message 
had been received—with a ‘‘seal’’ on it. Mr. Old wrote 
that the E..8.T. had been reorganized on the basis of 
that message—a plain, unornamented falsehod, as we 
have seen, and shall further show. This was in the arti- 
cle ‘‘Theosophic Freethought,’’ for which Messrs. Old 
and Hdge were suspended from the Ii.S.T., as narrated. 
Now let us take Mrs. Besant’s own series of statements 
in regard to that message and its ‘‘seal,’’ ete. 

*See Chapters XX, XXV, and XXVI. 


646 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


(1) On July 6, 1891, less than six weeks after the 
Meeting itself, Mrs. Besant drew up a statement which 
she sent to Mrs. Julia Campbell-Ver Planck at New 
York City—Mrs. Ver Planck then well known The- 
osophically and who afterwards married Dr. Archibald 
Keightley, but who was then entirely unknown to Mrs. 
Besant or anyone else except Mr. Judge as being identi- 
cal with ‘‘Jasper Niemand.’’ Mrs. Besant’s statement 
reads: 


London, Tay 6th, 1891. 
I took from William Q. J udge, on the after- 
noon of May 27th, 1891 [the meeting was held 
that night | certain papers selected from a num- 
ber of letters in his possession. These I took one 
by one, read them, folded them up, tred them 
onto a packet, and said I would read them my- 
self to the Council, as they concerned Bro. 
Judge. JI opened this packet myself in the 
Council meeting, in my place as chairman. I 
took up the papers one by one and read them 
(or parts of them) aloud, and on raising one of 
them saw a piece of paper lying between it and 
the next that was not there when I tied them 
together. After reading those remaining I took 
it up, and found it was a slp bearing some 
words written in red and signed with .°* .’s ini- 
tials and seal. The words were: ‘‘W. Q. Judge’s 
plan is right.”’ 
The paper is attached hereto. 
ANNIE BESANT. 


(2) In December, 1891, Mrs. Besant attended an EH. 
S.T. meeting at the Astor House in New York City, 
with Messrs. Robert Crosbie, Henry Turner Patterson, 
Thaddeus P. Hyatt, and William Main. There, the dis- 
cussion turned, wmter alia, on the ‘‘phenomena’’ occur- 
ring since H.P.B.’s death, the ‘‘message’’ in The Path 
for August preceding, and Mrs. Besant’s remarkable 
public statements in her ‘‘Hall of Science’’ speech on 


THE AMERICAN SECTION WITHDRAWS 647 


August 30, 1891, and, naturally, on the ‘‘Judge’s plan 
is right’? message of May 27, 1891, to which, among 
others, she referred in that speech. All four of these 
gentlemen, all well-known Theosophists of unblemished 
repute, afterwards testified that Mrs. Besant ‘‘stated in 
the most positive and unqualified manner that the mes- 
sage from the Master which she found at a meeting of 
the Council of the E. 8S. in London amongst other papers, 
could not have been placed there by Mr. Judge or anyone 
else 

(3) At Taplow, England, on the evening of June 15, 
1893, Mrs. Besant met and talked with Dr. and Mrs. 
Keightley on the subject of this Council meeting, the 
incident being brought up by reason of the advance proofs 
from The Theosophist of ‘‘Theosophic Freethought.”’ 
Dr. and Mrs. Keightley were both members of the E.S. 
T., and personal friends at the time with Mrs. Besant 
as well as Mr. Judge. No action had as yet been taken 
in the E.S.T. on Mr. Old’s and Mr. Edge’s actions. In 
the discussion they asked Mrs. Besant ‘‘what she had 
done with the parcel of letters between the time when 
she read and tied them together [in the afternoon] and 
the moment of taking them wmto the Council with her 
[in the evening]. She replied that ‘‘she had locked them 
umn a drawer im her room, where no one cowd have access 
to them, and took them from there into the Council Meet- 
mg, and that they were not out of her possession for a 
moment.’’ 

(4) Very shortly after the above meeting Mrs. Besant 
drew up the E.S.T. circular dated ‘‘August, 1893,’’ 
which, signed by her and Mr. Judge, was sent to all 
members of the H.S.T. Very full extracts have already 
been given in this History from that circular but a por- 
tion was reserved for its appropriate setting. We give 
that portion now. Mrs. Besant first gives the historical 
background: i 


In Lucifer for the month of April, a letter by 
Brother Judge to an unnamed Indian mem- 
ber [Col. Olcott] was published. The letter was 


648 


As we have earlier quoted, Mrs. Besant goes on to 
discuss the Old-EKidge article in the July Theosophast, 
gives their ‘‘foot note’’ in reference to the ‘‘message’’ 
of May 27, 1891—that the E.S.T. was reorganized on 
the strength of that message with its ‘‘seal’’—and to 
suspend Messrs. Old and Edge for their breach of the 


THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


in reply to many others sent by the Indian mem- 
ber to him, and while dealing with particular 
questions was deemed by the editor of Lucifer 
[Mrs. Besant] to contain matters of general 
T.S. interest. In that letter Bro. Judge re- 
ferred to a seal about which his correspondent 
had asked, and said in effect that he did not 
know if the Master was in the habit of using the 
seal referred to, but Bro. Judge did not state 
to the Indian [Col. Olcott] the fact that he 
(Judge) knew of an impression of the seal hav- 
ing appeared upon one or two occasions on let- 
ters from the Master to other persons; Bro. 
Judge not wishing to debate that question and 
also because—as he now again states to you— 
such a seal having appeared on letters from 
Masters to him in his own previous and personal 
experience was extraneous so far as he was con- 
cerned, though it did not invalidate any message. 


School Rules and discipline. She then says: 


But the statement im the above foot-note is 
itself untrue. The reorganization of the School 
im 1891 was not based on a message from the 
Master; it was based on several letters and cer- 
tificates from H.P.B. (see Council Minutes) 
explicitly making William Q. Judge her repre- 
sentative in America, and on one from her as- 
signing to Annie Besant the position she was to 
hold after her (H.P.B.’s) death. These were 
in Brother Judge’s possession and were ea- 
hibited to the Council. Brother J. D. Buck, one 
of the American Council, was also then in Lon- 
don. He, among others, suggested prior to the 


THE AMERICAN SECTION WITHDRAWS 649 


meeting a similar plan of reorganization to that 
proposed by Brother Judge, and Dr. Buck per- 
sonally drew up just prior to the Council meet- 
ing the new form of the pledge. At the meeting 
of the Council the plan was submitted by Annie 
Besant with some of the passages from H.P.B.’s 
letters. 


Mrs. Besant then goes on to give the text of a state- 
ment drawn up by herself and signed by herself and 
‘such of the Councillors present [at the Meeting of May 
27, 1891] whom we can reach at this moment.’’ This 
statement is dated ‘‘London, July 14, 1893,’’ and reads 
as follows: 


The plan for the reorganization of the E.S.T. 
rendered necessary by the passing away of H. P. 
Blavatsky, was laid before the English division 
of the General Council by Annie Besant, who 
had m her possession a bundle of letters from 
which she read extracts. These constituted Wil- 
ham Q. Judge H. P. Blavatsky’s representative 
with full. powers in America, and appointed An- 
nie Besant as Chief Secretary of the Inner 
Group (the highest grade im the H.S.T.), and 
Recorder of the Teachings. These were the 
documents upon which the reorganization of the 
School was based, and the recognition of Wil- 
liam Q. Judge and Annie Besant as Outer Heads 
was made. The arrangement was rendered in- 
evitable by these letters of H. P. Blavatsky, its 
Head, and nothing beyond her expressed direc- 
tions was necessary to insure its acceptance by 
the Council. Towards the close of the proceed- 
ings a message was received from Master, 
‘¢ Judge’s plan is right.’’ This was written on a 
small piece of paper found among the papers m 
the sight of all by Annie Besant. The message 
bore the impression of a seal, and the wmpres- 
sion was recognized by Countess Wachtmeister 


650 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


and others as that of the Master, being identical 
with impressions on letters received during the 
life-time with us of H. P. Blavatsky. 

The message was received as a most satisfac- 
tory sign of approval of the arrangement pro- 
posed, but that arrangement was im no sense 
arrived at in consequence of it, being, as stated, 
based on H. P. Blavatsky’s own letters and ac- 
cepted as her directions. 


This statement is signed with the following names: 
Constance Wachtmeister, G. R. S. Mead, Annie Besant, 
Laura M. Cooper, W. Wynn Westcott, and Alice Cleather. 
Immediately following the statement Mrs. Besant ap- 
pends a memorandum signed by herself alone, as follows: 


I myself selected from among many letters of 
H.P.B.’s those referred to above, and tied them 
together. There was no paper with Master’s 
writing bearing above words among them before 
the meeting. 


(5) It was concerning this ‘‘message’’ in particular, 
and others merely incidentally, that Mrs. Besant later 
made so many contradictory and bewildering statements 
during the dark days from the early fall of 1893 till the 
conclusion of the ‘‘Judge case.’?’ Chakravarti was in 
London when this very circular of August, 1893, was 
sent out, but had not then gotten Mrs. Besant into his 
Occult toils. Up till then Mrs. Besant was true to Mr. 
Judge, all Mr. Sinnett’s, Mr. Bert Keightley’s and Col. 
Olcott’s insinuations failing to do more than make her 
‘‘a little uneasy,’’ as she wrote herself in ‘‘The Case 
against W. Q. Judge.’’ That pamphlet tells a pitiful 
and sorry tale to one who reads it in the light of the 
ordered facts out of her own mouth, as given in the 
foregoing numbered paragraphs, and in the light of the 
pledge, Rules, and Book of Discipline of the School. It 
is the proof of the corruption of Annie Besant, not of 
‘‘forgery’’ by W. Q. Judge. She herself says (pp. 12-13) 
that up to September, 1893, when she went to America 


THE AMERICAN SECTION WITHDRAWS 651 


in company with Chakravarti and Miss Muller ‘‘the 
idea was to me incredible that a man who had worked 
so devotedly .. . could deliberately imitate the scripts 
of the Masters. . . . Of evidence at that time I had none, 
only vague accusations, and so far was I from crediting 
these that I remember saying that before I could believe 
Mr. Judge guilty, I should need the word of the Master, 
given to me face to face.’’ To whom did she say that? 
Chakravarti? 

At all events Chakravarti had gotten very close 
to her, as narrated, and had ‘‘magnetized’’ her many 
times so that she might be able to ‘‘see and hear the 
Master.’’ Mrs. Besant goes on: 


... Lhe result was that I made a direct ap- 
peal to the Master, when alone, stating that I did 
feel some doubt as to Mr. Judge’s use of His 
name, and praying Him to endorse or disavow 
the messages I had received. 

..- He appeared to me as I had so often be- 
fore seen Him, clearly, unmistakably, and I then 
learned from Him directly that the messages 
were not done by Hum, and that they were done 
by Mr. Judge. . . . The order to take action was 
repeated to me at Adyar [Christmas, 1893] 
... and J was bidden to wash away the stains 
on the T.S. ‘‘Take up the heavy Karma of the 
Society. Your strength was given you for this.’’ 
How could I, who believed in Hum, disobey? 


These alleged ‘‘appearances’’ must have taken place 
in the Fall of 18938. How then, in the face of them if 
genuine, could she make the statement she did before 
the European Convention in July, 1894? Who was it 
she saw and heard; by what means and under what in- 
fluences? But if it were, as she thought, the Master of 
H.P.B., one must wonder why that Master let her go 
on being deceived by ‘‘bogus’’ messages for more than 
two years after the death of H.P.B.; one wonders, too, 
why she should not have taken her first, her earliest 
doubts, to Him, and why, if she could reach Him, ‘‘clearly, 


652 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


unmistakably,’’ she was under any necessity to get ‘‘mes- 
sages’’ at second hand, be it from H.P.B., from Judge, 
from Chakravarti, from Mr. Leadbeater, or any one 
else; and why her ‘‘messages’’ all supposedly from the 
same Master, should give each other the lie, and lead 
her from one labyrinthine passage to another. 


CHAPTER XXXV 
JUDGE’S DEATH AND THE TINGLEY ‘‘SUCCESSORSHIP’’ 


Arter the British Convention in July, 1895, all hopes 
necessarily vanished, whether of official affiliation or of 
fraternal emulation between the two societies. Colonel 
Oleott, Mrs. Besant, Mr. Sinnett, and their supporters 
entered on an active campaign in England, Kurope, India, 
and Australia, and the membership in their society was 
largely augmented during the years immediately follow- 
ing the split in the parent Society. Their followers in 
America, few in number, rallied around the efforts of 
Mr. Fullerton to revive the ‘‘American Section,’’ but 
those efforts were futile for the most part until subse- 
quent to the dissensions in the T.S. in A., a year and a 
half after the death of Mr. Judge. 

The newly organized ‘‘Theosophical Society in Amer- 
ica,’’ free from dissentient elements, continued to follow 
the same lines of propaganda as had characterized its 
activities from its original inception in 1887 as the demo- 
cratic ‘‘American Section.’’ In affiliation with the T.S. 
in A. was the ‘‘Theosophical Society in England,’’ com- 
prising about a third of the British Theosophists who 
had ‘‘bolted’’ from the British Convention in July, 
1895. Besides these, a considerable number of indi- 
vidual members on the Continent, and a few members in 
Australia adhered to the same program of teaching and 
of practice. 

The ‘‘Hsoteric Section’’ of the T.S. in A. continued 
with the original Instructions, pledge, and conduct as 
maintained by H.P.B. The ‘‘Hsoteric Section’’ inaugu- 
rated by Mrs. Besant was required to sign a new 
‘‘pledge’’; additional ‘‘instructions’’ were sent out, 
among them Mrs. Besant’s version of the troubles in the 

653 


654 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


‘‘School’’; and, for the first time in the history of the 
.S., members were given for study the writings of Mrs. 
Besant and of Mr. Leadbeater as of equal authenticity 
and value with the writings of H.P.B. In 1897 the 
spurious ‘‘Third Volume”’ of the ‘‘Secret Doctrine’’ was 
issued, containing the garbled reprint of the original 
Preluminary Memorandum and Instructions of H.P.B. 
to the E.S.T. May 14, 1899, Mrs. Besant withdrew 
all the original papers and pledges of the School. Since 
that time the E.S.T. in the Besant fragment of the 
original T.S. and H.S. has gradually departed from 
the lines originally laid down by H.P.B., until only the 
forms remain. The writings and examples of the ‘‘Suc- 
cessor’? and her satellites have been studied and emu- 
lated to the gradual extinction of the original message 
of Theosophy recorded by H.P.B. This successful and 
unnoticed substitution was facilitated by the misfortunes 
which befell the T.S. in A. within less than one year after 
the separation. 

From the autumn of 1893, when the attacks upon him 
became virulent, Mr. Judge’s health slowly gave way. 
At the time of the Boston Convention in April, 1895, 
his condition was such that he was able to take but little 
active part in the proceedings. By October of that year 
his condition had grown so alarming that at the insistence 
of friends and physicians he went to Carolina in a vain 
endeavor to recuperate. This proving of no avail and 
it becoming increasingly evident that his life could not 
be prolonged, he returned North by slow stages, spend- 
ing a fortnight at Cincinnati with Dr. J. D. Buck and 
other well-known Theosophists. He reached New York 
City early in February and from then on rapidly de- 
clined. Mr. Judge died on Saturday, March 21, 1896, a 
little less than a year after the separation. 

Nothing in Theosophical history has been more ob- 
scured and therefore more misunderstood than the series 
of events immediately following the death of Mr. Judge. 
In the same way that Mrs. Besant has been accepted 
and followed in the largest of the existing Theosophical 
Societies as the ‘‘Suecessor’’ of H.P.B., so in the other 


JUDGE’S DEATH—AND AFTER 655 


of the two fragments of the parent association was Mrs. 
Tingley accepted and followed as the ‘‘Successor’’ of 
Mr. Judge and, through him, of H.P.B. as well. For 
more than a quarter of a century these two rivals to the 
mantle and the prestige of the Messenger and her Col- 
league have filled the world with their claims and as- 
sertions. Irom each of the original fragments numerous 
defections have inevitably occurred, in each case con- 
sisting of some new claimant to ‘‘messages from the 
Masters’’ with his devoted adherents. All trace back 
to one and the same basic idea—that of ‘‘apostolic suc- 
cession’’—the fecund source of all the sects and sec- 
tarianism into which has split up and degenerated every 
great religion, although each of them was originally, 
like the message and the mission of H.P.B. herself, a 
periodic public manifestation of the undying Theosophi- 
cal Movement. 

It is not to be presumed that the great bulk of the 
membership had at any time any knowledge of their 
own, whether of the Occult nature and status of H.P.B. 
and Mr. Judge, or of any of the numerous others, Mrs. 
Besant and Mrs. Tingley among them, who at one time 
and another have claimed ‘‘apostolic succession’’ and to 
deliver ‘‘messages.’’ Yet the members of the T.S. in 
A. accepted, as greedily and as readily, the Tingley claim 
of successorship as had been done before them by those 
who accepted Mrs. Besant in the same role. 

Mr. Judge dead, all was confusion and uncertainty 
among the rank and file of the membership of the Society 
and of its E.8.T. Some sort of announcement was 
eagerly looked forward to that should clear the way 
to the unbroken continuance of the School, the Society, 
and their common activities. On Friday, March 27, a 
brief notice announced a ‘‘General Meeting of the E. 
S.T.’’ at the Headquarters, 144 Madison Avenue, New 
York City, for the following Sunday, March 29, at noon. 
As many near-by members as possible attended this 
meeting and were passive participants in what took place. 
A prepared one-page announcement was read by Mr. 
HK. T. Hargrove as part of the proceedings and this, 


656 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


stamped with the same date as the meeting, was 1m- 
mediately afterwards mailed to all members of the KH. 
S.T. in the United States and throughout the world. 
This announcement, headed ‘‘strictly private and confi- 
dential,’’ reads in full: 


BROTHERS AND SistEeRS: We have been earnestly 
considering the future of the E.S.T. and its 
government, during the examination of our elder 
brother W. Q. Judge’s private papers. These 
papers already show that the future of the 
School was not left to chance, nor to our mere 
judgment. They contain astonishing revelations 
concerning our late Outer Head and definitely 
prove that he was far greater than superficially 
appeared. We think it rmght to inform you at 
once of this fact, and that his position in the 
Lodge was higher and his connection with Mas- 
ters far more intimate and constant than was 
generally supposed by most members of the 
School. His papers further show that he did not 
stand alone in the work, but that, unseen and un- 
known to all but the very few, he had assistance 
right at hand, and that he left this assistance 
behind him, not withdrawn by his death. In re- 
gard to this matter we must ask you for the 
present to remember that even as he trusted us, 
so you must trust us. But we shall issue a fur- 
ther communication as soon as possible, proving 
from his own papers the correctness of all that 
is written above. 

F'raternally and faithfully yours, 


This announcement was signed, in order, by Hi. T. 
Hargrove, Jas. M. Pryse, Joseph H. Fussell, H. T. Pat- 
terson, Claude Falls Wright, Genevieve Ludlow Gris- 
com, C. A. Griscom, Jr., and EH. Aug. Neresheimer—all 
well-known members then residing in and near New York 
City, all active in the Aryan Lodge, the T.S. in A., the 
H..S.T., the conduct of The Path, and the other work 
centering at the headquarters. 


JUDGE’S DEATH—AND AFTER 657 


There is no record that any of the members receiving 
this announcement examined it rigidly for its concordance 
with or application of the writings and example of H. 
P.B. and Mr. Judge. No one seems to have inquired 
how any ‘‘private papers’’ could ‘‘definitely prove’’ that 
Judge was an ‘‘elder brother,’’ his ‘‘position in the 
Lodge’’ and his ‘‘connection with Masters far more 
intimate and constant,’’ so that ‘‘he was far greater 
than superficially appeared.’’ No one seems to have 
asked himself or others whether the public work and 
writings of Mr. Judge for twenty years were not the 
real evidence of his true nature, rather than any post 
mortem claims made by others, ostensibly on his behalf, 
regardless of any or all ‘‘private papers’’ alleged to bol- 
ster them. Nor did any one question the further asser- 
tion that ‘‘unseen and unknown to all but the very few”’ 
Mr. Judge had left ‘‘assistance behind him, not with- 
drawn by his death.’’ No one inquired how, if this ‘‘as- 
sistance’’ had been ‘‘unseen and unknown to all but the 
very few’’ before his death, it was to be ‘‘definitely 
proved’’ after his decease. On the contrary, the mem- 
bership awaited eagerly and with the ‘‘trust’’ called for, 
the ‘‘further communication proving from his own pa- 
pers the correctness of all’’ the astounding claims made 
in the communication of March 29. 

That communication was followed within the week by 
a nineteen-page pamphlet, also ‘‘strictly private and con- 
fidential,’’ which was mailed to all members... It is dated 
April 3, 1896, and contains an address to the members, 
signed by the same names as the announcement of March 
29, together with what is declared to be ‘‘a verbatim re- 
port of a general E.S.T. meeting held in New York 
at Headquarters on Sunday, March 29, at 12:30 p. m.”’ 
The address proceeds: 

This is done according to the directions of the 
late Outer Head, William Q. Judge. The pa- 
pers left by him provided for the future man- 
agement of the School by the present Outer 
Head, a Council, and an Advisory Council in 
Europe. The Outer Head is known to and is in 


658 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


communication with the Council, but, according 
to direction and for reasons in part explained 
in the report of the above mentioned E.S.T. 
meeting, the name and identity of W. Q. Judge’s 
occult heir and successor is to remain unknown 
to the members in general for one year. Specu- 
lations as to who this Outer Head may be are 
useless and will prove injurious if indulged in. 
Both the name and person are practically un- 
known in the Theosophical Society, having been 
confided by Mr. Judge to but a very few chosen 
and trusted friends. Needless to say, the Outer 
Head is not among those named as being on the 
Council. 

The Council consists of the undersigned and 
other members to be added as soon as they 
have been communicated with. 

The Advisory Council in Europe remains the 
same as heretofore. 


Although it is declared that all this is done ‘‘accord- 
ing to the directions of the late Outer Head, William 
Q. Judge,’’ neither then nor thereafter were those ‘‘di- 
rections’’ reproduced or made accessible for examina- 
tion. Although it is declared that ‘‘the papers left by 
him provided for the present Outer Head, a Council, and 
an Advisory Council in Kurope’’ to manage the School, 
those ‘‘papers’’ were never exhibited for their authen- 
ticity to be inspected. These ‘‘instructions’’ and these 
‘‘private papers’’ alleged to have been ‘‘left’’ by Mr. 
Judge, by virtue of which the membership accepted Mrs. 
Tingley as ‘‘the occult heir and successor’’ appointed 
by Mr. Judge, are directly and irreconcilably in contra- 
diction, not only to the whole teaching of Theosophy and 
to H.P.B.’s specific statement in ‘‘Isis Unveiled’’ (Vol- 
ume 2, p. 544), that ‘‘apostolic succession is a gross and 
palpable fraud,’’ but, as well, in complete antithesis to 
Mr. Judge’s own statements and arguments in the 
Foulke’s case, as quoted in full in Chapter XXIII herein. 


JUDGE’S DEATH—AND AFTER 659 


After this saddling upon Mr. Judge of responsibility 
for the claims thus asserted, the address proceeds: 


We are further directed to say to you that: 


“By rasing themselves to the point of Trust 
and Intution, expected by the Master, which 
enables them to take the present pledge, mem- 
bers are actually advancing towards real Ini- 
tiation; they are once more ‘reborn,’ their past 
is left behind and they begin to receive THE 
New Lieut Tuat Has Gone Out From THE 
Lopae.”’ 


There can be no doubt that the foregoing was in- 
tended to be construed, and was construed by the mem- 
bers as a ‘‘message from the Master’’—presumably re- 
ceived through the ‘‘occult heir and successor.’’ A still 
more significant index of the pressure brought to bear 
on the members and of the real basis of the whole affair 
is contained in the next succeeding paragraph, which 
runs: 


We have only to add to the statements made 
by us at the E.S.T. meeting, minutes of which 
are enclosed, that individually and unitedly we 
have continued to receive unmistakable proof 
that the Outer Head appointed by W. Q. Judge 
is in direct communication with Masters, with 
H.P.B. and with the ‘‘luminous youth’’ or 
‘‘Rajah,’’ as that Adept has been variously 
named. This latter fact depends solely upon 
our most solemn testimony, but those who knew 
and trusted W. Q. Judge should take his decision 
as final and sufficient in itself. 


The only way these ‘‘Council’’ members whose signa- 
tures attest this notable address could have wnmistakable 
proof of superphysical ‘‘messages’’ would be, according 
to the teachings of Theosophy, by their being themselves 
either accepted chelas or Adepts. But since their ‘‘sol- 


660 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


emn testimony’’ relates exclusively to ‘‘direct communi- 
cation with Masters, H.P.B., and Judge’’ on the part of 
the new ‘‘Outer Head,’’ it must follow that their ‘‘un- 
mistakable proof’? rested on ‘‘messages’’ received 
through Mrs. Tingley. Their ‘‘solemn testimony”’’ is 
mere hearsay and possesses the same degree of validity 
as the ‘‘testimony’’ to any other ‘‘communicating spirit’’ 
through any medium or psychic. But the expression 
used, ‘‘we have continued to receive unmistakable proof,’’ 
is vitally telltale when weighed with the rest of the 
pretended ‘‘evidence’’ of Mr. Judge’s ‘‘instructions’’ and 
‘‘private papers.’’ The phrase shows that the ‘‘unmis- 
takable proofs’’ trace back in their origin, not to any- 
thing left in writing by W. Q. Judge, but to bogus ‘‘mes- 
sages from the Master’’ received through the same 
source or sources as the ‘‘messages’’ read to the general 
H.8.T. meeting of March 29. To those ‘‘messages’’ we 
shall soon come. 

The address which prefaces the pamphlet of April 3, 
1896, is immediately followed by the printed text of the 
‘“Minutes’’ of the E.8.T. meeting. The minutes begin 
with a statement by Mr. E. T. Hargrove. After calling for 
the assent of all present to absolute privacy regarding 
the proceedings, Mr. Hargrove read the text of the one- 
page announcement which we have already given. As 
‘‘evidence’’ of the ‘‘correctness of the statements made’’ 
in that announcement, Mr. Hargrove then read what he 
declared to be ‘‘passages from the Chief’s diary and 
from other papers that he has left behind which were 
not written for the benefit of others, but for his own 
use, and have all the more significance on that account.’’ 

These ‘‘extracts’’ are all, allegedly, from the ‘‘Mas- 
ter,’’? and dated November and December, 1894. The 
‘‘messages’’ given are all trivial in the extreme and 
appear to relate entirely to the bitter controversy raging 
at that time over the charges made by Mrs. Besant 
against Mr. Judge. There is in them nothing of philoso- 
phy or ethics, nothing of reference to events then pend- 
ing, not well known to hundreds of others besides the 
‘Master’? and Mr. Judge; nothing not already public at 


JUDGE’S DEATH—AND AFTER 661 


the time of their date and on record for years before. 
This set of ‘‘extracts’’ covers slightly less than two 
printed pages and is referred to by Mr. Hargrove as 
‘‘oroving our Chief’s constant intercourse with Mas- 
ters.’’ In themselves they contain no intimation of ‘‘ Mr. 
Judge’s occult heir and successor.’’ That they were in- 
serted merely to set up the “constant intercourse with 
Masters’? as a background for what was coming, 1s 
clearly indicated by Mr. Hargrove’s next remarks: 


Now in regard to the assistance which he re- 
ceived—assistance from a living person, I am 
going to speak of this person, but not by name. 
I will call that person ‘‘Promise.’’ That is not 
the real name; it is simply invented by myself, 
and whether it is a man, woman, or child, or 
merely a voice in the air, matters not in the least: 
therefore I will speak of that person as ‘‘he.”’ 


After this preface there follow nearly six pages of 
further ‘‘extracts,’’ accompanied with running com- 
ments by Mr. Hargrove. The first is an alleged ‘‘mes- 
sage’’ from H.P.B., dated January 3, 1895. This ‘‘mes- 
sage,’’ Mr. Hargrove declared, was part of one from 
which ‘‘extracts’’ had been read at the time to an ELS. 
meeting and also sent to London to the ‘‘ Advisory Coun- 
cil.’’ Mr. Hargrove in presenting his extracts from 
this message, said: ‘‘they contain important references”’ 
to ‘‘Promise.’’ A quotation will serve to illustrate the 
‘‘“importance’’ of this and the other messages alleged 
to be from Mr. Judge’s ‘‘occult diary.’’ Thus: 


Our dear chela, you have at last found your 
fellow chela, who was one of ours years ago, con- 
secrated to the work then, and now by the Mas- 
ter’s will brought face to face with you. ... As 
your light shines into ‘‘Promise’s’’ soul, fears 
will disappear as the dew before the sun. 

The forces are out and annihilation is the only 
thing that can interfere. ‘‘Promise’’ should have 
been in place with us at the beginning, but for 


662 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


your folly and his lack of trust in the Master. 
Let me tell you some of the things I have learned 
since I absented myself from the outer world. 
Many of the problems of life that should have 
been solved if we had been more together have 
come up before me and I have learned much. I 
am, next to the America work, interested in 
Spain. Ireland can take care of itself. In 
the pine woods I have found a Lodge which I 
knew something of before I went away. There 
seven chelas and the light they show that some 
day will be better known, I will describe to you 
at our next meeting. There is much connected 
with it that can be used for irradiating forces 
in this country, for there is a subtle connection. 
Be sure that at our next meeting this is not for- 
gotten. Slowly the ight from this Lodge is be- 
ing thrown over Spain, and I see that from the 
old corpse of bigotry, superstition and credulity 
will be reared a temple of light which will unite 
its forces with that of America and Ireland, and 
from these three points I know that humanity 
shall be saved. This battle of ight and dark- 
ness in our midst seems but small when I view 
the work before us, and the ends and prospects 
of our work shall stem the tide of this cruel and 
unworthy persecution. Under all of it, over it 
all, is the Master’s hand; be sure that all is well 
for thee. 

This is our centre here in America illuminated 
by the Lodge and protected by love. Send 
‘*Promise’’ out, but not yet; you can make what 
you will of ‘‘Promise,’’ for the truthfulness of 
spirit and devotion to us that are there will 
make it a good instrument. But keep it well in 
the background. In outer work ‘‘Promise’’ is 
our mystery. 


The foregoing ‘‘message’’ is followed by others of 
similar flavor. One from H.P.B. supposed to be dated 


JUDGE’S DEATH—AND AFTER 663 


April 3, 1895, puts into her mouth the following, called 
by Mr. Hargrove ‘‘most weighty and momentous’’: 


How I yearn for the day when I can come 
myself and work. It is being put off by all this 
strife and bitterness. I wi. coms, as I sat, 
THROUGH ‘‘PROMISE.’’ Every day they keep this 
up is another day of delay for that event. 

Had both (‘‘Rajah’’ and ‘‘Promise’’) been 
free, you well, and ye met at the time I said, 
more and more wonderful phenomena would 
have happened than did with me. 


The final ‘‘message’’ read by Mr. Hargrove to the 
meeting and given in the ‘‘minutes’’ in the pamphlet of 
April 3, is another ‘‘communication’’ declared to be from 
H.P.B. to Mr. Judge, apparently early in 1895: 


... your faculties begin to swell and a part of 
the connection is made. The moon and the place 
and water and ‘‘Promise’’ helped us. . . . When 
anything pushes you ahead it does the same for 
Rie LOMMISC. 0 a). 0. 

A year and over of probation was given by 
Master to those who do so madly try to destroy 
his work and his chela, yet they turn not from 
their evil ways. 

‘‘Promise’’ through his hands will do some 
of my best work. 


It is impossible to believe that any one soever could 
have treated these ‘‘messages’’ seriously on any theory 
of their inherent worth. Solely on the assumption that 
they were ‘‘phenomenal,’’ were from the ‘‘ Master,’’ and 
from the discarnate H.P.B., does it seem possible that 
any one could give them a moment’s respectful atten- 
tion. But to regard them from that point of view is 
to do violence to all the Messages received from those 
very Masters through H.P.B. herself while she was 
alive—is to ignore and cast aside the repeated injunc- 
tions of Judge himself. Philosophy and moral worth, 
not phenomena, had been insistently held forth as the 


664 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


sole and only criterion of right judgment on any and all 
‘““messages’’ and conduct. Some light on the glamour 
enveloping these ‘‘messages’’ with a fictitious and phe- 
nomenal importance is thrown by Mr. Hargrove’s closing 
remarks, after the reading of the ‘‘messages”’: 


This clearly shows that our only chance for the 
future lies in our trust in this light from the 
Lodge which is within us all, but which must 
also have a special centre of action to focus and 
distribute its rays. . . 

Trust is our only salvation, but reason alone 
should show us that he could not have left that 
body if he had not had an occult heir and suc- 
cessor to take his place, for that is the law in the 
Lodge. This occult heir is the link between 
ourselves and him, and so on from the Rajah to 
H.P.B., to Masters and to the great Lodge. 
There must be that link; his papers showed us 
where to find it; we have found it, have tested 
it and verified it beyond all question, individually 
and unitedly. 


These are the ‘‘proofs’’ that the circular of March 
29 so positively informed the membership would be sup- 
plied them—‘‘proofs’’ that were so ‘‘unmistakable’’ to 
Mr. Hargrove and his associates; yet ‘‘trust’’ and still 
more ‘‘trust’’ was affirmed by Mr. Hargrove as ‘‘our 
only chance for the future,’’ as ‘‘our only salvation.’’ 
Mr. Hargrove’s closing remarks clearly show, clearly 
prove, not the claimed ‘‘successorship,’’ but the attitude 
and state of mind with which he and his fellows ap- 
proached their ‘‘examination.’’ Their logic was: ‘‘Mr. 
Judge must have left a successor. He could not die with- 
out an occult heir. There must be a link. Where shall 
we find it? How shall we test it? By the philosophy of 
Theosophy, by the past statements of H.P.B. and Judge? 
No, by ‘‘messages’’ from him, from H.P.B., from Mas- 
ters, through his ‘‘occult heir.’’ 

With such an attitude of mind, with such ideas of The- 
osophy, of Masters, of what was to be looked for, it was 


JUDGE’S DEATH—AND AFTER 665 


inevitable that they should find what they were looking 
for, receive the anticipated ‘‘messages,’’ believe them, 
and accept as Mr. Judge’s chosen Successor the one 
through whom they got their ‘‘confirmation,’’ and should 
‘‘continue to receive unmistakable proof.’’ 

After Mr. Hargrove’s repeated positive assertions, one 
after another of the ‘‘Council’’ which sat with him upon 
the platform at the meeting of March 29, 1896, added his 
‘‘solemn testimony”’ to the truth of what Mr. Hargrove 
had said. These statements are all reproduced verbatum 
in the pamphlet of April 3. Mr. Pryse said: 


We cannot be too careful of our words. So the 
little I have to say I have written down, simply 
for the sake of clearness. I endorse what Mr. 
Hargrove has said to you. And I wish to re- 
iterate his request that in this critical time you 
should give us your confidence and unwavering 
support. Our position is not one to be envied. 
For myself I am here for only one reason: be- 
cause our Chief desired it. 


Mr. J. H. Fussell followed Mr. Pryse and declared: 


I wish first to say that I know of my own 
knowledge that what our Brother Ernest T. 
Hargrove has stated is true; that our Chief, the 
Rajah, is with us, and that he has not left us by 
the death of his worn-out body. But since the 
death of that body he has been, and is now, with 
us and the whole School, and he is still working 
along the same lines that he has worked hitherto; 
and will continue to so work and to lead us. 


Mr. H. T. Patterson was as emphatic as those who 
preceded him: 


I realize the solemnity of this occasion. I 
realize the tremendous importance of the step we 
have taken. Were I doubtful I should not dare 
take the responsibility I have. I have no doubts. 
My certainty is due partly to knowledge held 


666 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


in common with these others; partly to my own 
independent knowledge; and partly to the writ- 
ings of William Q. Judge which I myself have 
seen. 


Mr. Claude Falls Wright spoke at some length and 
in his remarks will be found the unconscious disclosure 
of the source of the Tingley claim of successorship. Mr. 
Wright said: 


. wha. we are saying is in corroboration 
of the statements and documents laid before you 
by Mr. Hargrove. ... 

For myself I will say that I have always be- 
lieved and trusted in the aid of Higher Powers 
and the Masters, and I knew we should not be 
deserted. But a few weeks before the late body 
of the Rajah passed away I confess I became 
troubled a little about the future; such periods 
of gloom and darkness come to all. And then 
I received, no matter in what way, a message 
which at once removed all doubt and depression, 
and which I showed to many members pres- 
ent. a 

I met this Chela—‘‘ Promise’’—several times 
in 1894 and 1895. Mr. Judge introduced me at 
a meeting of the Aryan T.S. in 1894, saying to 
me beforehand: ‘‘Here is some one I want you 
to look at closely; it is a particular person.”’ 
He afterwards told me that ‘‘Promise’’ fre- 
quently was in touch with the Lodge. Later he 
sent me to a house where ‘‘Promise’’ was stay- 
ing, and there this chela went into a trance and 
told me much of the future. .. . 

That we would not be deserted all of you 
must have felt sure. It is this trust ... that 
has continued our school under the direct pro- 
tection of the Masters and the Lodge. We on 
this platform have in the last few days had 
marvelous proofs of this. 


JUDGE’S DEATH—AND AFTER 667 


It should be self-evident that if Mr. Judge had had 
anything to do with selecting his alleged successor, he 
would not have left the students dependent upon ‘‘mes- 
sages,’’ either before or after his death, which they would 
have no means of verifying, nor upon the verbal say-so 
of any, but would have left clear, indisputable evidence, 
in his own physical handwriting of his own opinion and 
advice. H.P.B. left no ‘‘suecessor,’’ but she assuredly 
did leave abundant record in her own handwriting of 
how she regarded the various students, notably Mrs. 
Besant and Mr. Judge. That many came to regard Mrs. 
Besant as her successor was certainly no fault of H. 
P.B.’s, but due to Mrs. Besant’s self-assertions and the 
natural credulity and misconceptions of human beings. 
It can be observed by any one who reads closely the as- 
sertions in the circular of March 29, and its ‘‘proof’’ in 
the pamphlet of April 3, 1896, that in no place is the 
specific statement made that any of the alleged ‘‘proofs’’ 
were in Mr. Judge’s own handwriting. His ‘‘private 
papers’’ are freely spoken of, his ‘‘occult diary,’’ his 
‘‘instructions for the future management of the School’’ 
—hbut that is all. If Mr. Judge had himself left any such 
‘‘unmistakable proofs,’’ would not the ‘‘Council’’ and 
Mrs. Tingley have been first and foremost in proclaim- 
ing the fact and inviting the fullest and most rigid in- 
spection of the alleged documents? The inference is 
irresistible. The surety is made doubly sure by the fact 
that from that day to this not one of those ‘‘private 
papers,’’ or ‘‘instructions,’’ or the ‘‘oceult diary’’ has 
ever been produced. The weakness of Mr. Wright’s 
statement of his conversations with Mr. Judge becomes 
the more evident the more it is examined from various 
aspects. If he had known since 1894 that Mrs. Tingley 
or ‘‘Promise’’ was in ‘‘communication with Masters,’’ 
was a true ‘‘chela,’’ was ‘‘frequently in touch with the 
Lodge’’—was, in short, to be Mr. Judge’s ‘‘successor’’— 
why was he ‘‘troubled’’ just before Mr. Judge’s death? 
If he received the ‘‘message’’ of which he spoke that 
‘at once removed all doubt and depression,’’ then it is 
evident that his ‘‘certainty’’ about ‘‘Promise’’ was not 


668 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


due to anything Mr. Judge had previously said to him 
about her. It seems not to have occurred to him or to 
any of the others that if Mr. Judge were, in fact, an 
‘Calder brother’’ in ‘‘high standing’’ with the ‘‘Lodge,’’ 
an ‘‘adept,’’ perhaps Mr. Judge himself was able to see 
‘‘much of the future’’ and was giving Mr. Wright an 
occult hint to put him on his guard against the future 
‘‘suecessor’’ claim. If it were Mr. Judge who sent him 
later to see Mrs. Tingley, and if, as Mr. Wright says, she 
‘‘went into a trance,’’ it only shows Mrs. Tingley to have 
been a medium, or ‘‘sensitive,’’ not a chela. ‘‘Medium- 
ship,’’ wrote H.P.B. in ‘‘Isis Unveiled’’ (Volume 2, 
p. 588) ‘‘is the opposite of adeptship. And as to Mr. 
Wright’s closing line as quoted, it is to be remarked that 
neither he nor any of the others went into any details 
on the ‘‘marvelous proofs”’ they had ‘‘continued to re- 
celve’’ after Mr. Judge’s death. 

Mrs. G. L. Griscom followed Mr. Wright in the meeting 
and said: ‘‘I wish most earnestly and emphatically to 
corroborate everything that has been said by Mr. Har- 
grove.”’ 

Her husband, Mr. C. A. Griscom, Jr., next stated: 


I have nothing to add to what has already 
been said except that I have followed step by 
step all that has led up to this meeting. And 
I bear my testimony to the absolute truthful- 
ness of what has been said. 


Mr. Neresheimer was the last to give his ‘‘solemn testi- 
mony.’’ He said: 


I have a few remarks to make with regard to 
the Outer Head or chela of whom you have 
heard. Mr. Judge several years ago put me into 
communication with that person, and I think it 
is my duty to inform you of the fact. As you 
have heard, you will be made acquainted with 
the person after the expiration of one year. 


Mr. Neresheimer then read a ‘‘communication from 
the Masters,’’ which he said he had received ‘‘through 


JUDGE’S DEATH—AND AFTER 669 


this person’’ in March, 1895, assumedly in regard to the 
Boston Convention. Its last sentence is telltale. It 
reads: ‘‘Under no circumstances must Mr. Judge know 
of this.’’ There is no doubt—since they both admitted 
it—that Mr. Neresheimer and Mr. Wright had been in 
the habit of ‘‘consulting’’ Mrs. Tingley, believed in her 
‘‘nowers,’’ and accepted as ‘‘messages from the Mas- 
ters’’ communications received through her, a year or 
more before Mr. Judge’s death. Yet their ‘‘pledge’’ in 
the E.8.T. and the ‘‘Rules’’ of the ‘‘School,’’ both ab- 
solutely forbade such intercourse. Like many another, 
they ‘‘wandered from the discipline’’ and inevitably 
reaped the consequences. ‘T'o what state Mr. Neresheimer 
and the others had come in the few days following Mr. 
Judge’s death is shown by Mr. Neresheimer’s concluding 
remarks: 


It is the desire of the Rajah that those people 
who are on this platform, and others who have 
also been named by the Rajah are to be the 
Council of this movement in America. We are 
to receive our instructions, whatever there be, 
from the Outer Head, with whom, as I previously 
stated, | am acquainted and so are the others. 


From all the foregoing it must be clear that the general 
membership not only had no knowledge of their own in 
regard to the ‘‘Successor,’’ nor any means of verifying 
the alleged ‘‘proofs,’’ even had such opportunity been 
afforded them, for the ‘‘unmistakable proofs’’ were 
all phenomenal and hung on ‘‘messages’’ from H.P.B. 
and ‘‘Masters.’’ Equally must it be apparent that the 
membership relied wholly and absolutely on the ‘‘solemn 
testimony’’ of these eight witnesses and their direct as- 
sertions that all this was but carrying out Mr. Judge’s 
directions. Those witnesses were all well-known The- 
osophists, all with good reputations, manifestly sincere 
in their point-blank declarations; hence their testimony 
as to super-mundane facts was accepted as unquestion- 
ingly as it might have been regarding the most ordinary 
everyday occurrences. 


670 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


This brings the inquiry straight home to the eight wit- 
nesses themselves. The mass of the membership relied 
on them and their oaths. What did they rely on? The 
answer must be: On Mrs. Tingley and on ‘‘messages’’ 
received through her, not on any documents in the hand- 
writing of William Q. Judge. Mr. Neresheimer and Mr. 
Wright, on their own confession, and the others by their 
indirect statements, showed they had attended séances 
with Mrs. Tingley before Mr. Judge’s death, and cer- 
tainly afterwards when all their ‘‘marvelous proofs”’ 
were received. 

A reading of the pamplet of April 3 makes clear that 
some sort of consultations had been going on prior to the 
meeting of Sunday, March 29. What were they, and 
what reasons for secrecy and silence regarding them? 
No faintest intimation was suffered to leak out as to what 
took place in the interval between Mr. Judge’s death, 
March 21, and the meeting of March 29, save and except 
the assertion that ‘‘we have been examining Mr. Judge’s 
private papers.’’ What were the facts thus kept pur- 
posely obscured? 

This much is known: Almost at once after the funeral 
services, Messrs. Neresheimer and Griscom invaded the 
privacy of Mrs. Judge’s grief and asked and obtained 
from her the keys to Mr. Judge’s desk and to the safety- 
deposit box in which Mr. Judge kept his personal papers. 
Later on, when Mrs. Judge visited the headquarters she 
found no private papers of Mr. Judge in his desk, and 
on going to the safety-deposit box, found it absolutely 
empty. What became of those papers? They have never 
been produced to this day. 

Next, it is known that Mr. Neresheimer went to Mrs. 
Tingley for ‘‘advice and instruction.’’ That he received 
both abundantly is shown by the sequel—a sequel not 
disclosed for two years and then unwittingly as to its im- 
plications and bearings on the ‘‘successorship’’ claim. 
Mr. Neresheimer summoned to a private meeting at Mrs. 
Tingley’s house on Thursday evening, March 26, the wit- 
nesses whose testimony the members afterwards relied 
on. There they were ‘‘told’’ by Mrs. Tingley that Mr. 


JUDGE’S DEATH—AND AFTER 671 


Judge had ‘‘told’’? her in conversation in 1895 to ap- 
point them as her ‘‘Council’’ in case of his death! On 
the strength of Mrs. Tingley’s own rendition of this al- 
leged ‘‘conversation’’ with Mr. Judge in 18995, and on 
the ‘‘messages’’ produced, assumedly from ‘‘H.P.B.’’ 
and ‘‘the Masters,’’ rests the whole myth that Mr. Judge 
appointed ‘‘Promise’’ his ‘‘occult heir and successor.”’ 
The much-proclaimed and never-produced ‘‘private 
papers of Mr. Judge’”’ bear a rather remarkable likeness 
to ‘‘private notes’’ of Mrs. Tingley. 

It is from these ‘‘private notes’’ of Mrs. Tingley and 
other matter in The Searchlight for April, 1898, and Mr. 
Hargrove’s admissions which drew them forth, that the 
final ight is shed on the mysteries leading up to the E. 
S.T. meeting of March 29, 1896, and the pamphlet of 
April 3 following. The Searchlight itself was a rabidly 
pro-Tingley publication issued at irregular intervals dur- 
ing the throes of the fierce struggle that ensued in 1898 
between Mrs. Tingley’s supporters and those of Mr. Har- 
erove. To appreciate the bearings of The Searchlight 
revelations it is necessary to sketch briefly the interven- 
ing events. 

The pamphlet of April 3, 1896, was followed at the 
end of April by the annual Convention of the T.S. in A. 
The active and controlling factor in the Society at large 
was, of course, the E.8.T. When the Convention met 
at New York City, it was already an open secret that 
‘‘Promise’’?’ was Mrs. Tingley. On her ‘‘suggestion’’ 
Mr. Hargrove was enthusiastically elected President of 
the T.S. in A. He appointed Mr. Fussell as his private 
secretary and took charge of the editorial conduct of 
The Path, whose name had meantime been changed to 
Theosophy. Mr. Wright ‘‘called to more important work’’ 
as the private secretary of the ‘‘successor’’ to Mr. Judge, 
addressed the Convention and informed it that ‘‘the 
Masters’’ were ‘‘preparing to found a School for the 
Revival of the Lost Mysteries of Antiquity.’’ Mrs. Ting- 
ley addressed the Convention on the same _ subject. 
Amidst unbounded enthusiasm a subscription list was 
opened for this ‘‘School’’ and a large sum quickly raised, 


672 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


Following the Convention, on May 14, a ‘‘strictly private 
and confidential’’ circular was sent to all L.8.T. mem- 
bers and entitled ‘‘An Urgent Appeal.’’ They were in- 
formed that a ‘‘Crusapge has been directed by the Mas- 
ter,’’? and all were urged to contribute. The circular in- 
cluded the following gem of inanity from the new ‘‘Outer 
Head’’: 


Today the needs of humanity are embodied in 
one great call: ‘‘Oh God, my God, is there no 
help for us?’’ All people should heed the call 
of the Master and help to belt the world within 
the compass of the ‘‘cable tow’’ of the crusaders, 
for in their force is a quality of the ‘‘golden 
promise’’—the Light of the Lodge. It will radi- 
ate throughout the world, and with the aid of 
the widow’s mite will make perfect the Master’s 
plan. 


This appeal of the ‘‘golden ‘Promise’—‘‘the Light of 
the Lodge’’—was joyfully responded to by the member- 
ship. Many thousands of dollars were raised and the 
‘‘Crusaders,’’ headed by Mrs. Tingley, prepared to 
carry the ‘‘message’’ around the world. Great meetings 
were held in Boston and New York City. Speeches were 
made, greetings were read from many noted Theos- 
ophists. By the middle of June, when the ‘‘Crusaders”’ 
departed for Kurope on the first stage of their journey 
round the globe, Mrs. Tingley, whose ‘‘successorship’’ 
had meantime been publicly announced, was universally 
regarded by leaders and rank-and-file alike as the ‘‘ Agent 
of the Masters.’’ This feeling had been greatly strength- 
ened by a seven-page circular issued in the E..S.T., written 
by Mr. Hargrove and sent out ‘‘with the consent and 
approval of the Council’? on May 17, 1896. It was en- 
titled ‘‘An Occultist’s Life,’? and purported to give ‘‘cer- 
tain facts’’ in the life of the new ‘‘Outer Head,’’— 
‘‘facts,’’? says Mr. Hargrove, ‘‘which were well known to 
Judge during his lifetime.’’ Mr. Judge’s name thus 
having been lugged in to support his theme, Mr. Har- 
grove proceeds to tell of the ‘‘voices’’ and the ‘‘strange 


JUDGE’S DEATH—AND AFTER 673 


spirit’’ which accompanied ‘‘Promise’’ during her child- 
hood; of her ‘‘fiery devotion to humanity’’; of her being 
‘Cat last allowed by the Master to separate herself from 
her [first] husband and to return to her father’s home’’; 
of her having been ‘‘directed to marry her present hus- 
band, on an unusual basis,’’ after ‘‘throwing aside many 
more advantageous offers’’; of her then becoming ‘‘more 
fully conscious of her true occult position’’; of her using 
‘‘her power as a psychometer’’; of Mr. Judge’s ‘‘ap- 
proval of this work.’’ Mr. Hargrove then declares that 
Mr. Judge told him that this ‘‘work’’ had been ‘‘carried 
on by Master’s direction and under Master’s super- 
vision.’’ Mr. Hargrove told how ‘‘ ‘Promise’ has suf- 
fered as very few have suffered,’’ and concluded his 
panegyric: 


‘‘Promise’’ reached Theosophy by degrees, 
and in the process of reaching it underwent a 
training and preparation even more rigid and 
comprehensive than that experienced by either 
H.P.B. or W.Q.J. Always guided by the Mas- 
ter, every event in her life had a meaning and 
a purpose: When the ‘‘moment of consumma- 
tion’’ came, several years ago, known and 
recognized by Mr. Judge, the meaning and the 
purpose became clear at last... . 

Let us all bear this warning in mind: ‘‘Do 
not let us in any way throw the slightest obstacle 
in the path of our chosen leader. If we do, we 
shall regret it.’’ 


In prefacing this remarkable contribution Mr. Har- 
grove assured the members that it was sent out ‘‘un- 
known to the O[uter] H[ead],’’ and that the members 
‘‘should use great discrimination in giving out the facts 
it contains.’’ Those ‘‘facts’’ are unaccompanied by 
names, dates, verifiable references of any kind, and from 
first to last are such as could only have emanated from 
‘‘Promise”’ herself. : 

Coincident with Mr. Hargrove’s circular letter of May 
17 to the E.S.T., there appeared in the New York 


674 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


Tribune of May 18, an article of more than two full 
columns disclosing Mrs. Tingley’s identity as the ‘‘Suc- 
cessor,’’? and containing a long authorized ‘‘interview’’ 
with her. Under date of May 21, another ‘‘strictly 
private and confidential’? circular was sent out to all 
members of the H.S.T., containing a ‘‘warning’’ against 
the ‘‘Black Powers’’; a disclosure of ‘‘Promise’s”’ 
identity as Mrs. Tingley, and enclosing a copy of the 
Tribune article. 

Mr. Hargrove and Mr. Wright accompanied Mrs. Ting- 
ley on her ‘‘Crusade’’ from New York around the world. 
Mrs. Alice L. Cleather joined the party in Hurope. From 
the departure in June, 1896, till the return to San Fran- 
cisco in February, 1897, Mr. Hargrove kept Theosophy 
supplied with a monthly report of the wonders of the 
‘‘Crusade.’’ Mr. Fussell, Mr. Neresheimer, and others 
continued the propaganda in the United States. An 
K.S.T. circular was sent out, dated July 12, 1896, and 
signed ‘‘The Council,’’ containing the text of a ‘‘mes- 
sage from H.P.B.’’ received by the ‘‘Crusaders’’ in mid- 
ocean on June 15. During the eight months of the 
‘‘Crusade’’ the pages of Theosophy witnessed from 
month to month the highly colored pictures painted for 
the edification and encouragement of the membership. 
On the return to America the ‘‘cornerstone’”’ of the 
‘‘School for the Revival of the Lost Mysteries of An- 
tiquity’’ was laid with great éclat by Mrs. Tingley and 
her aides at Point Loma, near San Diego, California. 
‘“Warnings’’ were issued in E.S.T. circulars dated Janu- 
ary 21, and May 4, 1897, of attacks upon the ‘‘Outer 
Head”’ and the ‘‘work.’’ During the summer of 1897 the 
campaign of laudation of Mrs. Tingley as ‘‘successor’’ 
of Mr. Judge and as ‘‘ Leader of the Theosophical Move- 
ment throughout the world,’’ had reached the point where 
all lesser lights were eclipsed or shone as mere satellites. 

Mr. Hargrove, despite his chief and most prominent 
part in these pyrotechnics, and in spite of being the Presi- 
dent of the T.S.A. and editor of Theosophy would seem to 
have reached the conclusion that his rdle of Warwick, the 
King-maker, had been played entirely too successfully. 


JUDGE’S DEATH—AND AFTER 675 


He found that Mr. Neresheimer as co-legatee of the pub- 
lishing business under the will of Mr. Judge was dis- 
posed to overrule him in the editorial conduct of The- 
osophy. In the disputes which ensued, Mr. Hargrove, 
finding himself powerless, resigned the Presidency of the 
T.S. in A. and the conduct of Theosophy. Mutual felici- 
tations were published, but the actual cause of contro- 
versy kept secret, as was the dissension between Mr. 
Neresheimer and ‘‘ Jasper Niemand’’—Mrs. Keightley— 
the other legatee. In the E.S.T. however, a circular 
was sent out, dated September 3, 1897. It was signed 
by Mrs. Tingley, and contains the admission that it was 
she who had ‘‘suggested’’ Mr. Hargrove for President in 
the first place, because, she said: ‘‘I knew at that crisis 
he was the only available man to fill the place.’’ This 
circular was quickly followed by two additional communi- 
cations to the E.S.T., both dated September 13, 1897, 
and both signed by Mrs. Tingley. As subsequently be- 
came clear, both these pamphlets were preparatory for 
the open battle which followed a little later. One of 
the pamphlets related to ‘‘The International Brother- 
hood League,’’ organized by Mrs. Tingley immediately 
after the return from the ‘‘Crusade.’’ The other was 
entitled ‘‘The Theosophical Movement.’’ These were fol- 
lowed by the correspondence between Mr. Neresheimer 
and Mrs. Keightley, over the publishing business. Mrs. 
Keightley espoused the cause of Mr. Hargrove and Mr. 
Neresheimer was determined to support the cause of Mrs. 
Tingley. In November, Dr. Keightley resigned the Presi- 
dency of the affiliated Theosophical Society in Hngland 
and the Presidency of the English E.S.T. ‘‘Council,’’ 
without assigning any reasons. 

By January, 1898, the internal rivalry had become so 
high-pitched that its echoes began to reach the ears of the 
general membership both of the T.S. in A., and of the 
E.S.T. On January 3, 1898, a highly’ laudatory pamph- 
let was distributed to the membership, recounting in 
detail the ‘‘great works’’ accomplished by Mrs. Tingley. 
It was signed by Mr. Fussell and others and was sent 
out ‘‘unofficially.’’ This was followed by the perfecting 


676 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


of plans at a private conference held at Mrs. Tingley’s 
home early in January for the organization of the ‘‘Uni- 
versal Brotherhood’’ and the mergence in it of the T. 
S. in A. at the forthcoming annual Convention. This 
meeting was not made known at the time, but public 
official notice was sent out that the Convention would be 
held on February 18, 1898, at Chicago, instead of at the 
end of April, as had been the invariable custom from the 
beginning. 

The proponents of Mr. Hargrove had meantime been 
active and vigilant. A circular was sent out by them, 
signed by Mrs. Keightley among others, and dated Janu- 
ary 17, 1898, asking for signatures and support to elect 
Mr. Hargrove President at the coming Convention. As 
Mr. Neresheimer’s name was proposed for Treasurer 
and as the circular proposed to create the old title of 
Corresponding Secretary and elect Mrs. Tingley to that 
office, the move was well calculated to appeal to peace- 
loving members. The pro-Tingley faction countered with 
a circular signed by Mr. Neresheimer as President of the 
T.S. in A., disavowing any connection with the scheme 
and calling for support of Mrs. Tingley. The Hargrove 
supporters re-issued their circular with a ‘‘Note’’ signed 
by Mr. A. H. Spencer and dated January 23, disclaim- 
ing any intention in the original circular of the 17th to 
make it appear that Mrs. Tingley was enlisted with the 
scheme. Another circular—undated—followed from the 
Hargrove faction declaring that ‘‘serious and obvious 
defects exist in the management of the Society’’ and, 
without naming her, arguing against the overwhelming 
authority exercised by Mrs. Tingley. This was followed 
by an H.S.T. circular issued by Mrs. Tingley, in which 
she tells the members: 


I have evidence from one or two places of ab- 
solute disloyalty to the Master and the School. 
Plans in embryo, indicating proposed action, 
which would be detrimental to the interests of 


the Theosophical Society, have come into my 
hands. 


JUDGE’S DEATH—AND AFTER 677 


After invoking the names of H.P.B. and Mr. Judge, 
Mrs. Tingley gives the H.S.T. members the intimation 
of the program prepared for the Convention on Feb- 
ruary 18, in these words: 


Look for instructions which will open the door 
to those who wish to avail themselves of the op- 
portunities of the new cycle, to be mailed on 
February 18, 1898, to Presidents of E.S.T. 
Groups for distribution to each Member. 


The instructions referred to were duly distributed and 
advised the members of a New Lodge being formed under 
her direction, ‘‘to be the Guardians of the E.S.T.,’’ 
and containing the usual warning against the ‘‘few who 
are working adversely at the present time to the interests 
of the School.’’? She adds the significant words: 


When the report of the Convention of the The- 
osophical Society in America at Chicago shall 
have reached you, you will then better under- 
stand the deeper significance of one door closing 
and the other opening. 


The Convention of the T.S. in A. duly met at Chicago 
on February 18, 1898. There was a large and enthusi- 
astic attendance of delegates and visitors. There were 
placed in the hands of the delegates prepared and printed 
Resolutions, a Preamble and Constitution of the ‘‘Uni- 
versal Brotherhood,’’ and a ‘‘Proclamation to the Mem- 
bers of the Theosophical Society in America, by Kath- 
erine A. Tingley.’’ Willingly, and with little short of 
unanimity, the Convention adopted the Resolutions, 
which provided for the turning over of the T.S. in A. 
to the ‘‘Universal Brotherhood’’ organization, and its 
future conduct as a department of that institution and 
under its Constitution. The Constitution of the ‘‘Uni- 
versal Brotherhood’’ provided for various officers and 
a ‘‘Cabinet.’’ Mrs. Tingley was constituted its ‘‘Leader 
and Official Head,’’ and the same of the T.S. in A. de- 
partment. Under the Constitution of both, as presented 


678 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


and adopted, all final authority vested in Mrs. Tingley. 
No action of any kind could be valid if disapproved of 
by her, and any action taken by her as ‘‘Leader and 
Official Head’’ was incontestable. It was provided that 
this ‘‘Constitution’’ might be amended by a two-thirds 
vote at any ‘‘Congress’’ of the organization, but such 
congress could be called only by the ‘‘ Leader and Official 
Head,’’ and ‘‘no amendment shall be of force until ap- 
proved by the Leader and Official Head.’’ Mrs. Ting- 
ley had the right to appoint or remove at pleasure any 
and all Officers, and supreme control over all Branches 
and Lodges coming under the new organization. 

The Hargrove band of followers, few in number, met 
in another hall after the Tingley program was adopted 
by the Convention. Mr. Spencer presided and resolu- 
tions protesting against the action of the Convention were 
adopted. The meeting then proceeded to hold a ‘‘con- 
vention’’ of its own. Resolutions were passed affirming 
that the action of the Chicago Convention was illegal; 
electing Mr. Spencer acting President, appointing an 
Executive Committee, and reaffirming the Constitution 
of the T.S. in A. as originally adopted at Boston in April, 
1895. 

Thereafter an active and violent battle was waged to 
gain the adherence of the members of the T.S. in A. 
and of the E.8.T.—on the one hand by Mrs. Tingley’s 
‘‘Universal Brotherhood,’’ and on the other by the Har- 
grove faction. More than 95 per cent of the membership 
accepted the action of the Chicago Convention. In all, 
some 200 members out of approximately 6,000 followed 
Mr. Hargrove and his associates. During the excite- 
ment which followed the Chicago Convention Mr. Har- 
erove issued a twenty-seven-page pamphlet entitled 
‘‘H..S.T.,’’ which was mailed to as many members as 
possible. It was dated March 1, 1898. 

This ‘‘E.8.T.’’? pamphlet of Mr. Hargrove’s is, per- 
haps, the most remarkable of all the remarkable utter- 
ances put afloat by him during the entire period from 
the death of Mr. Judge onwards. It is in the form of 
‘¢Minutes’’ of an ‘‘E.S.T. meeting’’ called by Mr. Har- 


JUDGE’S DEATH—AND AFTER 679 


erove at Chicago in the late afternoon of February 19, 
following the Chicago Convention and the dissentient 
meeting held by the ‘‘bolters’’ from the action taken by 
that Convention. At this meeting Mr. Hargrove read to 
those who answered his call, a series of letters addressed 
by him to Mrs. Tingley at various dates from January 
19, 1898 up to and including noon of the date of the meet- 
inge—F'ebruary 19. The pamphlet contains the full text 
of these letters, plus bracketed comments added by Mr. 
Hargrove, and containing also other letters addressed 
by him to Mrs. Tingley subsequent to the Convention and 
up to February 25, 1898. There can be no dispute re- 
garding these letters, as they were published by Mr. Har- 
grove himself. In them he incidentally makes the most 
astonishing admissions as to the course of events im- 
mediately following Mr. Judge’s death. If the reader 
will refer to the statements of Mr. Hargrove at the 
meeting of March 29, and those contained in the cir- 
culars of that date and of April 3, 1896, as given earlier 
in the present chapter, and compare them with the state- 
ments made in his letters to Mrs. Tingley as given in 
his ‘‘E.8.T.’’? pamphlet of March 1, 1898, the nature 
of the fraud perpetrated on the membership in declaring 
Mrs. Tingley to have been the successor appointed by 
Mr. Judge, becomes at once apparent. For in his letter 
to Mrs. Tingley dated January 30, 1898, he says: 


Now, my dear friend, you have made an awful 
mess of it—that is the simple truth. You were 
run in as O(uter) H(ead) as the only person in 
sight who was ready to hand at the time. We 
were all of us heartily glad to welcome you, for 
you solved the problem which confronted us— 
who was to be O. H.; you were a sort of neutral 
centre around which we could congregate. And 
most of us fairly yelled with delight, for you 
solved our difficulty and we had ample proofs 
that some members of the Lodge were working 
through you and that you had high and rare 
mediumistic and psychic gifts and that you were 


680 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


a disciple of the Lodge. So things went swim- 
mingly for a time. 

Our enthusiasm and anxiety to see all go well 
carried some of us too far—carried me too far 
to the extent of ... leading me to use my 
personal influence with people to get them to 
accept you as O. H. I thought it was for the 
good of the work, but since then I have learned 
better. 


In the course of his bracketed comments Mr. Hargrove 
refers to the orzginal Minutes of the ‘‘Council’’ meet- 
ing at Mrs. Tingley’s home following the death of Mr. 
Judge. This does not refer to the ‘‘general E.S.T. 
Meeting’’ of March 29, 1896, but to the secret gather- 
ing at Mrs. Tingley’s home on Thursday evening, March 
26, 1896. Mr. Hargrove quotes from page 2 of those 
Minutes: ‘‘ After some speculation we finally, through EH. 
T. H(argrove) were told that the Outer Head was Purple 
(Mrs. Tingley).’’ Mr. Hargrove adds a further reference 
to page 54 of the Minutes to show that it was through 
him that the other members of the Council ‘‘first heard 
of’? Mrs. Tingley as the ‘‘Outer Head.’’ His comments 
also show that a revised version of the original minutes 
of this meeting was later prepared at Mrs. Tingley’s di- 
rection. Neither the ‘‘original’’ nor the ‘‘revised’’ ver- 
sion of what took place at that meeing has ever been made 
public, though Mr. Hargrove claimed in his comments 
that a certified copy of the original Minutes and the origi- 
nal of the revised version were in his possession. 

That Mr. Hargrove, as well as Mrs. Tingley, had ‘‘high 
and rare mediumistic and psychic gifts’’ is indicated 
throughout his letters, for he tells Mrs. Tingley: ‘‘It is 
by Master’s order that I write you’’; ‘‘by order of the 
Master you have ceased to be the Outer Head of the 
E.S.T. in the interior and true sense’’; ‘‘The Outer 
Head to follow you has already been appointed by the 
Master.’’ 

The circulation of Mr. Hargrove’s pamphlet, the legal 
proceedings begun by him and his associates to test the 


JUDGE’S DEATH—AND AFTER 681 


validity of the action of the Chicago Convention, and the 
revival of the old Theosophical Forum, with its first 
number dated February, 1898, containing an account of 
the Chicago proceedings and the efforts of the ‘‘bolters”’ 
to continue on the old lines—all these were met by vigor- 
ous efforts on the part of the pro-Tingley majority. By 
the middle of April the first number of The Searchlight, 
to which we have referred, was out with forty large pages 
of fine print in an endeavor to counteract the feared ef- 
fects of the Hargrove revelations. The combined mat- 
ter of both sides, when sifted and related to the proceed- 
ings made public immediately after the death of Mr. 
Judge in the circulars of March 29 and April 3, 1896, 
establishes beyond all question that Mrs. Tingley’s ‘‘suc- 
cessorship’’ was due, and due only, to the ‘‘messages”’ 
obtained by virtue of the ‘‘high and rare mediumistic 
and psychic gifts’? of Mrs. Tingley, Mr. Hargrove, Mr. 
Wright, and others—‘‘messages’’ from ‘‘ Masters,’’ from 
the dead H.P.B. and the dead W. Q. Judge—not to any 
‘‘appointment’’ made by the living William Q. Judge in 
his own physical handwriting. 

Completely inoculated with the virus of ‘‘apostolie suc- 
cession,’’ both the fragments of the parent Theosophical 
Society rapidly degenerated. To do more than sketch 
briefly the successive steps of that degeneracy would 
serve no useful purpose and would itself be foreign to 
the enduring work of the Movement. 

After the Convention at Chicago in 1898 Mrs. Tingley 
carried with her, practically in toto, the American The- 
osophists. Her ‘‘Universal Brotherhood and Theosophi- 
cal Society’’ soon removed its ‘‘international headquar- 
ters’’ to Point Loma, near San Diego, California. Dis- 
integration began almost immediately. Silently, as dis- 
illusionment set in, the membership began to lapse, and 
within a few years the ‘‘society’’ became a mere 
‘‘colony.’’ Of the more than six thousand members of 
the T.S. in A. in 1896, less than as many hundred now 
regard the decaying stump at Point Loma as the Theo- 
sophical tree. f 

Mr. Hargrove and his group of recalcitrants fared no 


682 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


better. Imbued with the same basic ideas, they substi- 
tuted their revived ‘‘Theosophical Society in America’’ 
as the ‘‘successor’’ of the parent organization. In 1908 
the name was changed to that of ‘‘The Theosophical So- 
ciety.’’ It has its own ‘‘chelas,’’ its own ‘‘esoteric 
school,’’ its own ‘‘messages from the Masters,’’ and has 
become a mild and respectable Theosophical Episcopa- 
lianism, with particular emphasis on ‘‘the Master Jesus”’ 
and the ‘‘theosophy’’ of the ‘‘saints’’ of Catholic his- 
tory. Its American membership has never exceeded from 
two to three hundred and its membership abroad has 
never been more than a handful. 

Another offshoot of the break-up was the ‘‘Temple 
of the People.’’ This began early in 1899 with a cir- 
cular issued from Syracuse, New York, and signed by 
Dr. W. H. Dower and Frances J. Myers. Its particular 
‘‘chela’’ was Mrs. Francia A. La Due, and her ‘‘messages 
from the Masters,’’ given out under the pseudonym of 
‘‘Blue Star,’’ were its inspiration until her death in 1923. 
‘‘The Temple’’ achieved a considerable following for sev- 
eral years. Many ‘‘Squares’’ (Branches) were estab- 
lished by ex-members of the ‘‘T.S. in A.,’’ and the 
‘‘Universal Brotherhood.’’ Early in the present cen- 
tury Mrs. La Due was ‘‘ordered”’ to establish a ‘‘colony’’ 
at Haleyon, California. As other ‘‘initiates’’ offered new 
‘messages from the Masters,’’ the ‘‘Temple’’ became 
less and less frequented, and of this ‘‘successorship’’ but 
a forlorn remnant remains, as at Point Loma—sad relic 
of the collapse of the American fragment of the old Third 
Section. 

‘‘The Theosophical Society of New York’’ is still an- 
other attempt to resuscitate the work of the Third Sec- 
tion. This also began in 1899 and grew out of the long 
connection with Mr. Judge of Dr. J. H. Salisbury. Dr. 
Salisbury, with Mr. Donald Nicholson, managing editor 
of the New York Tribune, another early friend of H.P.B. 
and Mr. Judge, and Mr. Harold W. Percival, then a 
young man, gathered around them a small group. With 
this group became partly affiliated Dr. Alexander Wilder 
and Mrs. Laura Langford (Mrs. Laura Holloway), one 


JUDGE’S DEATH—AND AFTER 683 


of the ‘‘chela’’ authors of ‘‘Man: Fragments of Forgot- 
ten History.’’ The work of this society was continued for 
many years, but its vitality was never great and it was 
subject to the same basic defects as the better known 
survivors of the old American Section. It has been prac- 
tically dormant for years since the discontinuance of its 
organ, The Word, published by Mr. Percival. 

Dr. J. D. Buck, one of the best known of the original 
oeeneration of Theosophical students, a firm supporter 
of H.P.B. and Mr. Judge, and author of several books, 
was Vice-President of the T.S. in A. at the time of Mr. 
Judge’s death. He, like the rest, accepted the Tingley 
‘“successorship’’ and was active in her support for two 
years. After the Chicago Convention in 1898, he followed 
Mr. Hargrove in secession from the action taken at that 
Convention. After a short adhesion to Mr. Hargrove’s 
T.S. in A., Dr. Buck was attracted by Mrs. La Due’s 
claims and joined the ‘‘Temple of the People.’? When 
‘‘the T. K.’?’—Richardson—and Mrs. Huntley began their 
‘“‘Great Work,’’ the claims of ‘‘the T.K.’’ to represent 
‘‘the Masters’’ and to afford a ‘‘scientific formula’’ for 
‘‘adeptship,’’ presented an ‘irresistible lure to Dr. Buck. 
He became one of the most ardent devotees of ‘‘the T. 
K.’’ and did his utmost to secure the adhesion of his old 
time Theosophical associates to the new ‘‘messenger of 
the Masters.’’ The fraud and exposure of ‘‘the T.K.’’ 
broke his heart and Dr. Buck did not long survive. 

Another Theosophist of the first generation, Mrs. Alice 
L. Cleather, accepted as unquestioningly as did the 
others Mrs. Tingley’s ‘‘successorship.’’ For two years 
Mrs. Cleather was one of the most ardent and active 
supporters of Mrs. Tingley. She quietly dropped out 
in 1899. In later years she gathered a group of ‘‘pupils’’ 
to whom she imparted her own version of Theosophical 
history and teachings. After traveling on the Continent 
from place to place she finally removed to India. When 
the dissensions regarding Mr. Leadbeater became once 
more acute in Mrs. Besant’s society a few years ago, 
Mrs. Cleather emerged from the obscurity of her own 
‘esoteric’? retreat and work, Taking advantage of the 


684 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


occasion she wrote two booklets, ostensibly in ‘‘defense’’ 
of H.P.B. against the ‘‘successorship’’ and conduct of 
Mrs. Besant. In the course of these booklets Mrs. 
Cleather declared that Mr. Judge, not she and her one- 
time associates, had been deluded and dominated by Mrs. 
Tingley. Her declarations to that effect have been as 
readily and as unquestioningly accepted by many as her 
declarations to the contrary were formerly taken at face 
value. A Blavatsky Association was formed by followers 
of Mrs. Cleather to ‘‘perpetuate the memory and work”’ 
of H.P.B., to which members of Mrs. Besant’s society 
are denied entrance. 

Turning to the other fragment of the parent T.S.— 
that which adhered to Col. Olcott and Mrs. Besant after 
the split of 1895—it has, by contrast to the mutilated and 
dying skandhas of the old ‘‘ American Section,’’ achieved 
a far longer life and a far greater utilitarian success, 
with a correspondingly greater degradation of the origi- 
nal Objects and teachings enunciated by H.P.B. Vari- 
ous contributory factors have brought this about. In the 
beginning the great prestige and tradition attached to 
Col. Olcott as the President-Founder of the parent T.S. 
caused the whole of the Indian and Australasian member- 
ship to remain loyal to the fragment headed by him. In 
Great Britain, on the Continent, and, to a small extent, in 
the United States, the ability and reputation of Mrs. Bes- 
ant, the secondary but powerful influence of Mr. Sinnett 
and other well-known writers and leaders, coupled with 
the fact that the Besant-Olecott wing were the accusers 
and not the accused, gave an initial great advantage be- 
fore the public. The dogma of ‘‘successorship’’ can 
be. applied equally to organizations as to persons, and 
many who might have remained indifferent to Mrs. 
Besant’s own claims as ‘‘successor to H.P.B.,’’ were 
undoubtedly influenced by the name ‘‘The Theosophical 
Society’’ and the venerable President-Founder’s connec- 
tion with it. The death of Mr. Judge in less than a year 
after the split left Col. Olcott for eleven years in the 
unique position of sole survivor of the original Three 
Founders of the parent T.S. and this was fully exploited. 


JUDGE’S DEATH—AND AFTER 685 


The dissensions which almost at once sprang up among 
the survivors of the American fragment and the speedy 
collapse of the spectacular performances staged by Mrs. 
Tingley and her competitors for the mantle of Mr. Judge, 
left the Besant-Olcott combination with no real rival 
in the ‘‘suecessorship’’ role. In the summer of 1899, 
Mrs. Besant withdrew the pledge, memorandum, and in- 
structions of H.P.B. and substituted a new ‘‘pledge’’ 
for her ‘‘esoteric’’ students. This was followed by 
‘‘studies’’ and ‘‘instructions’’ of her own, and by the 
circulation in her ‘‘School’’ of the ‘‘clairvoyant investi- 
gations’’ of Mr. Leadbeater and herself which were later 
published as ‘‘Occult Chemistry.’’ Mrs. Besant, Mr. 
Leadbeater, and Mr. Sinnett, along with a host of lesser 
lights, fed and fostered that hunger for the mysterious, 
the abnormal, and the ‘‘occult’’ which H.P.B. and Mr. 
Judge had so resolutely and so continually opposed and 
warned against. The ‘‘E..S.T.,’’? which controlled ab- 
solutely the exoteric Society, speedily became a ‘‘hall 
of Occultism’’ and a ‘‘factory for the manufacture of 
initiates’’—the very thing that the veritable Mahatmas 
had so insistently discountenanced in Their letters to 
Mr. Sinnett in 1880-82; letters whose complete text is 
now available to all students in ‘‘The Mahatma Letters 
to A. P. Sinnett.’’ 

In 1906 charges of infamous conduct and teaching to 
boys confided to his care were brought against Mr. Lead- 
beater. An inquiry into the matter was held by Col. 
Olcott at London. Mr. Leadbeater admitted the charges 
and resigned from the Society. Colonel Oleott, who had 
meantime come to distrust Mrs. Besant, had regarded 
Mr. Leadbeater as the ‘‘agent of the Masters,’’ and the 
disclosures made undoubtedly hastened his death, which 
occurred early in 1907. Mr. Chakravarti and others had 
endeavored to procure the endorsement by Col. Olcott of 
Bertram Keightley to succeed to the Presidency, while 
those devoted to Mrs. Besant had done the same in 
her behalf. The mentally enfeebled and physically 
dying President-Founder was beset in this way till 
his parting moment. Immediately following his death 


686 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


Mrs. Besant, on the strength of her own ‘‘visions’’ and 
the ‘‘clairvoyant’’ witness of Mrs. Marie Russak (Mrs. 
Hotchener), and Miss Renda, declared that the ‘‘Mas- 
ters’’ had visited the headquarters and ‘‘impressed’’ her 
to be the ‘‘Successor’’ of Col. Olcott as she was already 
the ‘‘Suecessor’’ of H.P.B. These ‘‘Adyar manifesta- 
tions’’ raised a great furore throughout the Society. Mr. 
Sinnett declared them to be anything but what they were 
claimed to be. Mr. Mead revolted. Even Mr. Fullerton 
rebelled. A great war of claims pro and con set in. Mrs. 
Besant, ever master of the strategy of partisan politics, 
issued a booklet, ‘‘H.P.B. and the Masters of the Wis- 
dom.’’ Ostensibly a ‘‘defense’’ of H.P.B. against the 
Coulomb-S.P.R. charges of more than twenty years 
earlier, it was in reality a clever move to picture Mrs. 
Besant in the frame of H.P.B.’s martyrdom, as its open- 
ing paragraphs abundantly testify. Mrs. Besant was 
overwhelmingly voted for by the members who believed 
her to have been ‘‘appointed by the Master.”’ 

Mrs. Besant at once began a campaign for the restora- 
tion of the repute of her colleague Mr. Leadbeater. He 
was soon invited to return to the Society and in the years 
that have gone on has become increasingly the ‘‘ power be- 
hind the throne’’ in Mrs. Besant’s Society. In due course 
came the ‘‘coming Christ’’ revelation, the order of the 
‘‘Star in the Hast’’ to herald ‘‘His coming,’’ and a long 
succession of adjunct and affiliated orders, organizations, 
and movements by Mrs. Besant and Mr. Leadbeater. 
Chief among these was the ‘‘Liberal Catholic Church.’’ 
A quarrel broke out between Mrs. Besant and the father 
of ‘‘Krishnamurti,’’ the assumed probable ‘‘vehicle’’ of 
the ‘‘Incarnation,’’ over Mr. Leadbeater’s influence on 
this Hindu boy. The series of incidents in connection 
with the ‘‘coming Christ’’ claims have led to increasing 
extravagances and increasing disturbances in Mrs. 
Besant’s Society. In the thirty years of its history the 
lapses and withdrawals from Mrs. Besant’s Society have 
been enormous. Only the most strenuous propagation 
of one new ‘‘revelation’’ after another and the pander- 
ing to the thirst for ‘‘occult preferment’’ have enabled 


JUDGE’S DEATH—AND AFTER 687 


it so far to withstand the immense drain of its losses 
which for more than twenty years have averaged an- 
nually some 15 per cent of the membership. Between 
the ‘‘coming Christ,’’ the ‘‘Liberal Catholic Church,’’ 
and the ‘‘Occultism’’ strenuously advocated by Mrs. 
Besant and Mr. Leadbeater and their imitators, the gulf 
that separates this fragment of the parent T.S. from the 
teachings of H.P.B. and Mr. Judge has grown so wide 
and deep that ‘‘Neo-theosophy’’ has been to all intents 
and purposes entirely substituted for the Theosophy 
recorded by H.P.B. as the Message of the Lodge of 
Masters. Not only has the Society itself become the re- 
verse of the parent association whose name it bears, but 
the numerous segmentations from it have departed as 
widely from the original teachings and the original im- 
pulse of the Theosophical Movement. 

Amongst these fractionations probably the most ex- 
tensive was that due to Dr. Rudolph Steiner. Originally 
General Secretary of the German Section of Mrs. Bes- 
ant’s Society, his ability, his personal purity and earnest- 
ness, and his writings built up for him a very strong fol- 
lowing. As his revelations of ‘‘Occultism’’ conflicted at 
many points with Mrs. Besant’s inspiration, friction soon 
developed and with her usual methods Mrs. Besant set 
about forcing him into exile. Practically the entire Ger- 
man membership and many others throughout Hurope 
followed Dr. Steiner when he organized his ‘‘Anthro- 
posophical Society’’ which still numbers a very large 
membership and which depends entirely upon Dr. Stein- 
er’s ‘‘Occult’’? communications and instructions. 

Mrs. Besant and Mr. Sinnett composed their differences 
over the ‘‘Adyar manifestations’? and Mr. Sinnett ac- 
cepted Mrs. Besant’s invitation to resume the Vice-Presi- 
dency of her Society in which he remained till his death 
—as pathetic a figure as was Col. Olcott during his de- 
clining years. | 

Miss Mabel Collins was also sought out and invited 
back to membership in Mrs. Besant’s Society. She, how- 
ever, remained connected with it but a few years, and 
thereafter made various attempts to regain something 


688 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


of the prestige she enjoyed prior to the Coues-Collins 
attack on H.P.B. but with scant success. 

Mr. Geo. R. S. Mead, after following Mrs. Besant’s 
flag in the ‘‘case against W. Q. Judge,’’ remained her 
devoted assistant till the death of the President-Founder 
and the ‘‘ Adyar manifestations.’’ He parted from her at 
that time, subsequently established ‘‘The Quest Society’’ 
and has since devoted his energies to it and its publica- 
tion, The Quest. His society has gained a considerable 
and highly respectable membership, mostly in Great 
Britain, and is devoted almost entirely to comparative 
religions and psychical research. 

Mr. Max Heindel, originally a member of Mrs. Besant’s 
Society and a lecturer in its American Section, became 
interested early in Dr. Steiner’s writings. After a due 
season of ‘‘initiation,’’ Mr. Heindel blossomed forth on 
his own account with a ‘‘Rosicrucian Cosmo-Conception’’ 
and a ‘‘Rosicrucian’’ society. He established ‘‘head- 
quarters’’ at Oceanside, California, and built up a 
flourishing association with numerous members through- 
out the world. Since his death the activities of this so- 
ciety have been directed by his wife, who survives him. 

Aside from the foregoing, literally scores of ‘‘occult,’’ 
‘‘fraternal,’’ ‘‘mystical,’’ and ‘‘New Thought’”’ groups 
and small followings have been established with varying 
appeals and fortunes, by ex-members of the old The- 
osophical Society and by renegade members of its 
Esoteric Section. Today it is a rare city indeed in 
Kurope or America which is not the seat of from one to 
a dozen of these ‘‘successors’’ to the spoils of the Third 
Section of the Theosophical Movement. 


CHAPTER XXXVI 


PRESENT AND FUTURE OF THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


Has the Theosophical Movement of our times been a 
failure? 

By many who have followed us thus far, this question 
will naturally be asked; perhaps by some as naturally 
decided in the affirmative. All such are asked to read 
again the Preface and the opening chapter, and then to 
consider the record made since 1875; not in the nature 
of an isolated phenomenon, but in the light of human 
history, even as known to us in a merely mundane sense. 
The story of civilization, as shown in the great empires 
of the world, is painted by their rise from savagery 
through many vicissitudes and, after reaching the cul- 
mination of their greatness, they descend again in accord- 
ance with the same law by which they ascended; till, 
having reached the lowest point, humanity reasserts it- 
self and mounts once more, the height of its attainment 
being, by this law of ascending progression by Cycles, 
somewhat higher than the point from which it had be- 
fore descended. As quoted in Chapter I, Mr. Henry 
Buckle, in his ‘‘ History of Civilization in England,’’ in- 
tuitively grasped this great truth and applied it to the 
rise and fall of religions and philosophies. The presence 
on earth at the same time with the highest civilization, 
of the most degraded and appalling savagery, or of the 
most abject superstition alongside and in the midst of the 
noblest ethical and philosophical culture, does not mili- 
tate against this Law of Cycles—or Karma; it only il- 
lustrates one of its applications, for these Cycles do not 
affect all mankind instantly, or at one and the same time. 

According to Theosophical teachings a centenary effort 
has been made in the West since the fourteenth century, 

689 


690 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


and to its unseen and unrecognized influence has in fact 
been due the enormous acceleration of HKuropean and 
American progress in science, in political and religious 
liberty, in inter-racial and international intercourse. 
From this point of view the mission of H. P. Blavatsky 
was the fifth in an orderly and progressive series—all 
of them merely preparatory for that day when Adepts 
will appear in the West in propria persona and demon- 
strate, not merely teach, the reality of Their doctrines 
concerning Man and Nature. When one considers the 
appalling misuse and abuse made by men during the last 
five centuries of their power over their weaker and less 
endowed fellows, and of those powers wrested from 
Nature—powers that in every case might equally have 
been employed for universal benefit—he may perhaps 
appreciate the reticence of the Masters of the Wisdom- 
Religion in not putting prematurely before mankind 
the certain evidence of occult powers a thousand times 
more sinister and disastrous, in the hands of able but 
predatory and selfish men, than any merely physical in- 
strumentations. Who can doubt, in view of what has 
been and what is, that mankind needs an immense phil- 
osophical and ethical preparation before its moral status 
is on a parity with its intellectual and physical progress? 
The ground having been plowed and harrowed and tilled 
in two fields—at what cost to humanity who runs can 
read, at what cost to the Lodge of Masters who can say? 
—remains yet to be achieved the far more onerous task 
of so arousing and promoting the Spiritual evolution of 
at least a choice minority of the race that a genuine 
nucleus of Universal Brotherhood shall be born to serve 
as a seed-bed for succeeding generations, before entrust- 
ing to it the rationale of those, to us, miraculous powers 
which, once acquired, may as easily be turned to satanic 
as to divine purposes. How the Mahatmas Themselves 
view the task before Them is set forth with terrible dis- 
tinctness in the very first of Their Letters to Mr. Sin- 
nett. Other Letters in the same series, now accessible to 
all who will, show something of the precautions taken by 
Them in every case of probationary and even accepted 


PRESENT AND FUTURE 691 


chelaship, to guard against every possibility of those 
powers falling into ethically unworthy hands. Sad as 
are a hundred or a thousand or ten thousand failures in 
Occultism, with all their evil consequences, they are as 
nothing compared to the woes that would befall mankind, 
once those powers became accessible to determined men 
whose moral nature harbors one uneradicated Spiritual 
defect. From this point of view the failures in the parent 
Theosophical Society and amongst the ‘‘candidates for 
chelaship’’ in its Esoteric Section have been a blessing 
to mankind, however much of a curse they may have 
brought upon the misguided victims of a thirst for ‘‘Oc- 
cult powers’’ who ‘‘too soon fancied themselves apart 
from the mass.’’ Suppose those Occult failwres who, 
after the death of H.P.B. and Judge, ‘‘divided their 
garments among them, and for their vestures cast lots,’’ 
and who have since been fighting amongst themselves for 
sectarian power and precedence—suppose that all or any 
of these, instead of falling into the comparatively mild 
degradation of mediumship and psychism, had actually 
acquired Occult powers—had become chelas and initiates 
of the Left-Hand Path? The whole world would have 
entered upon a psychic debauch, an era of superstition 
and witchcraft, of religious persecution, of mental and 
moral darkness, in which our civilization would have gone 
out like a torch dipped in water. 

It is to be remembered that those who were the cause 
or the medium for all the vicissitudes which befell the 
parent Society were Spiritualists, or Materialists who 
became Spiritualists in fact, regardless of what gloss of 
terms they applied to themselves and their practices. In 
every case, in spite of all warnings and of all efforts, 
they were inflamed with the desire for ‘‘powers’’—not 
devotion to the great First Object. It was better for 
these even, and infinitely better for the world, that they 
should fail early, if fail they must, than gain power and 
then, failing, to fall deep and drag countless multitudes 
on the same descent. The thousand-year Night of the 
Middle Ages in Europe, and the age-old degradation of 
the Orient, should be to any sober student warning enough 


692 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


of the frightful consequences of the abuse of the psychical 
nature and its powers. 

Furthermore, the observer who may be disheartened 
by the failure of the parent Theosophical Society and 
its still more unworthy successors, loses all sight of the 
tens upon tens of thousands of men and women in every 
walk and station of life who gave some attention to the 
Theosophical teachings, who imbibed something at least 
of its fundamental philosophy, and who, when disillu- 
sionment came as to their societies and leaders, simply 
dropped out of all connection with any of them. How 
oereat the number of these, and the spread by them of 
the ideas imbibed, can be tested by anyone. One has 
simply to inquire successively of those he meets what 
their views are upon the subjects of Karma, of Re-incar- 
nation, of the identity of the vital truths underlying 
and common to all religions, of Masters, of the reality 
of Occultism, of Spiritual and Intellectual as well as 
physical evolution, and he will know for himself by the 
percentages arrived at, how enormously the Theosophical 
teachings regarding Man and Nature have permeated 
the minds of men in a scant half century. And even in 
the horde of ‘‘Theosophical’’ and ‘‘Occult’’ associations 
and groups now misapplying a noble philosophy of life, 
the investigator will soon find that the great mass of 
their members are not deeply contaminated by the ex- 
cesses of their leaders; they are, in by far the larger 
part, attracted by the truths present in the midst of all 
the falsehood and futilities. They do not differ, in this 
respect, from the numberless sincere and good men and 
women in the churches of the various Christian sects, 
who are attracted by the ethics and character of Jesus 
and the associated opportunity, however inadequate, for 
the cultivation and expression of that natural human de- 
sire for philanthropy through the only channels open to 
them, far more than by theological dogmas or sectarian 
claims. 

And this leads naturally to some consideration of the 
visible signs, if any, of the permeation of Theosophical 
ideas among the mass of men in the great fields of human 


PRESENT AND FUTURE 693 


interest indicated by the words religion, science, and 
philosophy. 

No doubt today, as readily as half a century ago, 
orthodox opinion among leaders and laity alike in the 
established fields of religion, science, and philosophy still 
regards either as a delusion or a fraud the claimed Mas- 
ters of H. P. Blavatsky, her Theosophy, and her phe- 
nomena. But when one examines present-day views and 
theories on Deity, Nature, and Man in contrast and com- 
parison with the accepted ideas of half a century ago, 
and happens to be familiar with the actual aims and 
teachings of H. P. Blavatsky, he cannot fail to observe 
in every department of human interest the profound and 
far-reaching, if uncredited and unrecognized, influence 
she has exercised in the course of a single generation. 

In the field of religion the orthodox has become the 
heterodox. ‘‘Fundamentalists’’ stand with their backs 
to the wall against the ever-increasing power of ‘‘Mod- 
ernism’’ in religion. Serious writers like Edmond 
Holmes and Havelock Ellis, preachers like Dean Inge, 
Harry Emerson Fosdick, and scores of others, drama- 
tists, poets, and essayists, ike George Bernard Shaw, Al- 
gernon Blackwood, W. B. Yeats, George W. Russell, and 
Rabindranath Tagore, and popular writers for the press 
like Arthur Brisbane and Dr. Frank Crane, have been 
helped by, or have helped themselves to, the teachings 
of Madame Blavatsky to an enormous extent, both di- 
rectly and indirectly. In turn, their output has had an 
immense effect upon the popular mind. That the source 
from which they have drawn or whence they have derived 
has not always been acknowledged or accredited does not 
alter the fact itself. Through such secondary channels 
her ideas have gained an enormous currency. Those who 
still believe in the Bible literally, and in a carnalized 
Christ, have been reduced to a minority in number and 
in influence, and placed on an apologetic defensive. The 
day when the clergy exercised a despotic authority over 
the public conscience has reached its gloaming. Among 
the clergy themselves the study of comparative religion 
in the endeavor to find the vital truths common to them 


694 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


all has largely taken the place of the former exclusive 
study of their own theological dogmas. Liberty of 
thought, freedom of conscience, the tolerance which goes 
with them, are everywhere in the air. Evolution, as ap- 
plied to religion and religious convictions, instead of 
rigid and unyielding creeds and confessions, is very 
widely recognized and upheld as the law of the Spiritual 
Life. 

In science the contrast is not less marked. Mr. Tyn- 
dall, as the mouthpiece of nineteenth-century science, 
wrote in his ‘‘Fragments’’: ‘‘We claim, and we shall 
wrest from theology, the entire domain of cosmological 
theory.’’ What respectable exponent of the science of 
today would repeat his claim or his boast? If it is in- 
dubitably true that religion has become more scientific, 
it is not less, but even more the case, that science is be- 
coming religious in a nearer spirit and truer sense than 
the theology of less than two generations since. Men 
like Thomas A. Edison, Prof. William Crookes, Sir Oliver 
Lodge, Camille Flammarion, Prof. Millikan, and Chun- 
der Bose have, both by their discoveries and their 
writings, exercised a tremendous influence over the pres- 
ent and the future of the race at large. Their scientific 
theories and their views of life have been drawn in chief 
and large part directly or indirectly from the tenets of 
the Wisdom-Religion. Lesser but able and influential 
students of modern science by the hundred, influenced un- 
consciously to themselves by the Occultism of their 
awakening psychic faculties have practically overthrown 
the materialism which dominated the science of the mid- 
dle of the nineteenth century. ‘‘Psychic research’’ is 
now a legitimate object of scientific inquiry. The recent 
investigations conducted by the foremost journal of its 
kind in the United States, The Scientific American, is 
typical of the new spirit in the scientific field. ‘‘ Kcto- 
plastic structure’’ is being seriously experimented with 
as the actual basis of mediumistic and other abnormal 
physical and psychological phenomena. This is simply 
the ‘‘astral body’’ of Theosophical teachings. Two of 
the greatest of the American universities, Harvard and 


PRESENT AND FUTURE 695 


Columbia, are, in their departments of psychology, al- 
ready entering upon the domain of ‘‘ practical occultism’’ 
in their study of the workings of consciousness. Pro- 
fessor James, as his work and his writings show, was 
influenced by his acquaintance with many of the The- 
osophical teachings. In physics the old theory of ‘‘force 
and matter’’ is dead beyond resurrection—drowned by 
the progressive overflow of hypotheses and experiments 
directly in the line of the recorded statements and 
prophecies of H. P. Blavatsky. Science now knows that 
the essential basis of both force and matter is one and 
the same, and that that essence is electrical in its nature. 
Atomic and molecular structure and laws are recognized 
as identical with those that govern a solar system. When 
it is recognized that ‘‘ectoplasm’’ is the basis of all or- 
ganic and inorganic action, the physics and the Occult 
doctrines of physical evolution outlined in the ‘‘Secret 
Doctrine’’ will have been completely, as they already are 
in two-thirds, vindicated by modern science itself. The 
Third Object of the Theosophical Movement is today the 
First Object of modern science, as its Second Object is 
the prime concern of Modernism in religion. Einstein 
has displaced Newton, and the ‘science’’ of Tyndall, of 
Huxley, and of Haeckel is as much of an outcast today as 
were the teachings of Madame Blavatsky a single gen- 
eration ago. 

In philosophy, or what passes for philosophy among 
men of the times, the writings of Bergson, of Maeter- 
linck, generally, and of many others with particularized 
theories, show unmistakably that they have been derived 
and adapted from the ancient Oriental teachings once 
more brought to the West by Madame Blavatsky. The 
immense output of books, magazine and newspaper writ- 
ings, impregnated by and colored with Theosophical 
ideas, and their ever-growing circulation and popularity, 
when contrasted with the utter dearth of similar liter- 
ature prior to 1875, shows the enormous extent of the 
area watered by the Theosophical Movement, the enor- 
mous dissemination and reproduction of the seed 
brought by H.P.B. 


696 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


Unrecognized though it be as among the results of 
the Theosophical Movement, all this is the success for 
which H.P.B. and Judge worked—the only object they 
hoped to accomplish, so far as concerned the mass of 
mankind in the West for the next one hundred years. 
In writing of the mission of H.P.B. in his Path for 
June, 1891, Mr. Judge stated both her aim and her mis- 
sion to the world at large, in these words: 


Her aim was to elevate the race. Her method 
was to deal with the mind of the century as she 
found it, by trying to lead it on step by step; 
. . . to found a Society whose efforts—however 
small itself might be—would inject into the 
thought of the day the ideas, the doctrines, the 
nomenclature of the Wisdom-Religion, so that 
when the next century shall have seen its sev- 
enty-fifth year the new messenger coming again 
into the world would find the Society still at 
work, the ideas sown broadcast, the nomen- 
clature ready to give expression and body to the 
immutable truth. 


That she set herself no impossible task, that her Mas- 
ters behind were under no illusions as to what could 
and what could not be accomplished by her mission, the 
prime obstacles she and They had to face, and the limita- 
tions under which Their work, no less than any other, 
has to be carried on, is set forth in the Letters of those 
very Masters Themselves to Mr. Sinnett and Mr. Hume 
in the earliest days of the Movement. Writing in 1880, 
the Master said: 


We never pretended to be able to draw nations 
in the mass to this or that crisis in spite of the 
general drift of the world’s cosmic relations. 
The cycles must run their rounds. Periods of 
mental and moral light and darkness succeed 
each other as day does night. The major and 
minor cycles must be accomplished according to 
the natural order of things. And we, borne along 


PRESENT AND FUTURE 697 


on the mighty tide, can only modify and direct 
some of its minor currents. If we had the pow- 
ers of the imaginary Personal God, and the uni- 
versal and immutable laws were but toys to play 
with, then, indeed, might we have created condi- 
tions that would have turned this earth into an 
arcadia for lofty souls. But having to deal with 
an immutable law, being ourselves its creatures, 
we have had to do what we could, and rest 
thankful. 


And what of the future of the Theosophical Movement? 
Will the mission of H. P. Blavatsky in time degenerate 
as did the mission of Krishna, of Buddha, of Jesus, into, 
at best, one more added to the number of ‘‘prevailing 
religions’’ at some future epoch? 

It is possible; it is indeed, perhaps, probable, judging 
by the long record of the past, as that past is known to 
us. Yet, under the Law of Cycles, it is certain that its 
zenith is yet to come. The world-religions that have so 
long survived, and that still number among their ad- 
herents three-fourths of the earth’s populations, have 
been in their decadence for many centuries. There are 
long periods during which the great Masters of the Wis- 
dom-Religion not only do not put forth additions or 
restatements of Primeval Truths, but, knowing that 
‘‘neriods of mental and moral darkness must succeed 
each other as night follows day,’’ they do their utmost 
to withdraw and conceal from the world of the profane 
every avenue of approach to the Mysteries. This is the 
opposite pole of that same Law of Spiritual and Intel- 
lectual evolution under which ‘‘from age to age They 
incarnate, for the preservation of the just, the destruc- 
tion of the wicked, and the establishment of righteous- 
ness.’’ These alternations are dimly indicated in the 
many myths of the ‘‘Flood,’’ of the ‘‘Fall of Man,’’ of 
the ‘‘Destruction of Atlantis,’’ and of Saviours in the 
remote past, as well as of Avatars yet to come. Ali this 
has been extensively treated in the writings of H.P.B. 
herself, more particularly in her ‘‘Secret Doctrine.’’ 


698 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


The rise of Western civilization since the Middle Ages, 
the growth of modern science, with all its drawbacks 
taken into account, the rapid decline in the actual influ- 
ence of Christian theological dogmas, the great strides 
in civil as well as religious freedom, the agnostic and in- 
quiring spirit which is everywhere re-testing old meas- 
ures of value so long esteemed fixed and inviolate—all 
these are visible and self-evident signs of the ascending 
are of the Theosophical Movement among mankind at 
large. Read in the light of the successive efforts of the 
First and Second Sections in the last quarter of each of 
the five preceding centuries, their significance takes on 
an added augury. Each of these centenary efforts has its 
own cycle, and while, in the hundred-year cycle from 
1875 to 1975, the effort of H.P.B. is at its nadir point 
in 1925, let it not be forgotten that the work she came 
to do, she did. There is never any failure on the part 
of the Masters of the First Section, or their Messengers 
and other agents of the Second Section. Her work was, 
first of all, to deliver a message. That message has been 
placed of imperishable record among men. Her work, 
second, was to set the example of true chelaship before 
her students of every degree—to show them how to live 
the life of utter and complete self-abnegation in the serv- 
ice of a Cause. Those who failed, failed because they 
tried to separate the Messenger from the message, to 
appropriate the fruits of her sacrifice without emulating 
that sacrifice itself. How could they know her, who 
did not live her life? In the third place, she came to reap 
the ripened harvest of former efforts of the same kind: 
to do her part in the forging of the final link for this 
cycle in the unending chain of accessions to the Great 
Lodge. Chelaship and Adeptship are not the product of 
one incarnation only, but of many lives devoted to the 
Path of Perfection, and each cycle completed, each link 
welded, sees some additions to the ‘‘Guardian Wall which 
shields mankind, since man is man, from other and far 
greater evils’’ than any of those known to our times. 
That this part of her mission did not fail is exemplified 
in the case of Damodar, of Mr. Judge, of the mys- 


PRESENT AND FUTURE 699 


terious Unknown from whom emanated ‘‘Light on the 
Path,’’ and of still others obscurely spoken of or hinted 
at in the pages of the old Theosophist and in ‘‘The Ma- 
hatma Letters to A. P. Sinnett.’? While, according to 
H.P.B., the ‘‘cycle of adeptship’’ closed with the last 
century for all those who were drawn into the orbit of 
her living activities, and while with her departure’s twi- 
light her Masters also withdrew from all direct contact 
with those who had not ‘‘opened up for themselves con- 
scious communication with the Guru,’’ her mission has 
not closed, nor have the chelas of the Second Section, 
old and new, ceased their labors, albeit they work in 
‘‘secrecy and silence’’ until 1975, so far as the ‘‘Third 
Section’’—the world at large—is concerned. 

Quite apart from the Nirmanakayas, so rarely spoken 
of, yet so inspiringly indicated to those in whom the di- 
vine spark of intuition is awake; quite apart from the 
continuous work of the Disciples of the Second Section 
amongst those to whom they are sent; quite apart from 
the recorded and abundant statements of H.P.B. that 
the Path is never closed, and can always be found by 
those who ‘‘knock in the right way’’—there are those 
signs by which the thoughtful and reverent layman, the 
honest and earnest ‘‘man in the street,’’? may recognize 
the unbroken continuity of even the Third Section of the 
Theosophical Movement. 

Certainly those signs are not to be found in the liter- 
ature or the activities of any of the ‘‘Theosophical’’ and 
‘‘Occult’’ societies. In all these it is but too evident that 
the Master wrote prophetically as well as historically 
when he advised Mr. Sinnett that ‘‘the charlatans and 
the jugglers are the natural shields of the adepts.’’ 
Today, as always, those who come to the Temple with 
unclean hearts are caught and held by the traders in the 
outer courts. ‘‘They have their reward,’’ as Jesus is 
said to have taught—but perhaps it has been much over- 
looked that the ‘‘pure in heart’’ have their reward also; 
now, as much as in days of old. HEiven the traders have 
to gild their wares to find customers and victims—and 
the gold in the dross is quickly separated by those who 


700 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


have in them the ‘‘four requisites’’ to the gates of en- 
trance of the inner Tabernacle: ‘‘doing service, strong 
search, questions, and humility.’’ Thus, even during the 
darkest hours of the Theosophical Movement of our 
times, there are those who, when tested by the ancient 
Occult aphorism, ‘‘By their fruits shall ye know them,’’ 
show by their works their allegiance without variable- 
ness or the shadow of turning to the direct line and the 
unbroken impulsion of the ageless Movement, as H.P.B. 
showed the unbroken consistency and undeviating accord 
of her work and wisdom with the Path of the Prede- 
cessors of all time. 

A study, for example, of the originally anonymous 
‘‘Creed of Buddha,’’ and the subsequent writings of its 
author, Mr. Edmond Holmes, in ‘‘The Creed of Christ,’’ 
and his work on Education, will show the same percep- 
tion of fundamental Truth, the same grasp of the Hter- 
nal Verities, the same sane, wholesome, and practical 
application of those truths and verities to the problems 
of everyday life and action as so pre-eminently charac- 
terized the work of Mr. Judge. Who can measure the 
ever-widening influence of such writings as these upon 
an audience already rendered ‘‘porous to ideas and 
bibulous of thought’’ through the sacrifice of the 
Pioneers? 

In India, ‘‘Motherland of my Master’’ as H.P.B. 
wrote, although the Theosophical influence by name has 
either withered or been turned into the grossest of cor- 
ruptions—even in India, those who have observed and 
studied the antecedents and work of the Angarika Dhar- 
mapala for the revival on the soil of its ancient birth- 
place of primitive Buddhism, see one of the fruits of 
the Theosophical Movement. Dharmapala was long a 
student of H. P. Blavatsky’s and close and true friend 
of Col. Olcott. Seeing the ruin of Theosophy as such in 
India, instead of folding his hands and waiting vainly 
for the Masters to do the appointed work of the true 
Theosophists, he bethought him of the statements of the 
Masters Themselves—‘‘Col. Oleott works but for the 
revival of Buddhism,’’ and, ‘‘Buddhism, stripped of its 


PRESENT AND FUTURE 701 


superstitions, 7¢ Eternal Truth itself’’—and, undismayed 
and undisheartened, took upon himself the mighty task 
whose already visible structure is true to the Architecture 
of its Founder. 

Out of India, too, has come to the West another 
true student of the wisdom of the ‘‘Secret Doctrine’’— 
B. P. Wadia, member of an old and leading Parsi 
family of Bombay. This gentleman, given a copy of 
the ‘‘Seeret Doctrine’’ in his youth, made it his constant 
guide during twenty years’ work to restore its teachings 
to currency among the new generation of Theosophists 
in India, through the channel of the only Theosophical 
Society known in India—that of Mrs. Besant. Mr. 
Wadia’s practical application of the Brotherhood of 
Theosophy in raising the status and labor conditions 
of the textile workers in the great mills of India, and 
in bringing about the recognition of the ‘‘ Untouchables’’ 
by their fellow workmen, brought in its train a world- 
wide acquaintance with statesmen, economists, labor 
leaders, and governmental officials in Kurope and Amer- 
ica. Mr. Wadia came to the United States, first in 1919, 
and again in 1922, after a year and a half spent in Kurope. 
Aware that in America the ‘‘forerunners’’ of the Sixth 
Root Race are appearing in the amalgamation now in 
process, and aware that the efforts since the fourteenth 
century have been in anticipation of, and parallel with 
that amalgamating process, he, in preparation for 
the future of the Movement in India, issued, in the 
summer of 1922, an Open Letter to his former associates 
and to all Theosophists. In this Letter he stated dis- 
passionately and unargumentatively the results of his 
twenty years of study and work, and announced his 
resignation from all official and other connection with 
Mrs. Besant’s Society. Hundreds of thoughtful mem- 
bers of that Society, aware of Wadia’s history, and 
impressed by the force of the statements made, have fol- 
lowed it up with investigations of their own and have 
in turn withdrawn. Indirect results of Wadia’s ex- 
perience, coupled with their own knowledge of condi- 
tions, have led many others, notably Mr. Martyn of Aus- 


702 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


tralia, Mr. Prentice of New Zealand, Mr. Smythe of 
Canada, Dr. Stokes of Washington, D. C., Mr. H. Trevor 
Barker of England, and many other leading members of 
Mrs. Besant’s society either into independent activities 
or into serious efforts to call attention to prevalent cor- 
ruption of Theosophical teachings, and to restore that 
Society to the aims and writings of the Founders. 

In Europe, the venerable Mrs. Julia Scott, a survivor 
of the parent Society and a faithful friend and pupil 
of H.P.B. and Mr. Judge, has labored for many years 
to assist and instruct a few in the teachings and practises 
originally ensouling the Third Section. First in England, 
then in Italy, and in recent years in Switzerland, her 
work has been carried on in the midst of many obstacles 
and despite ill-health and advancing years. Many owe 
to her their first Theosophical light in this incarnation, 
and many others their restoration to the lines that had 
been lost in the confusions following the death of H.P.B. 
and Mr. Judge. 

In the United States, Mr. Robert Crosbie who entered 
the Movement coincidently with the foundation of The 
Path, and who for many years had the benefit of direct 
training and instruction from both H.P.B. and Mr. 
Judge, established in 1909 at Los Angeles, California, the 
parent United Lodge of Theosophists, after witnessing 
the final dissolution of the work left at Mr. Judge’s death. 
Mr. Crosbie was imbued with the conviction that the 
model set in the Preliminary Memorandum by H.P.B., 
was the true and enduring modulus for Theosophical 
study and work after her heart. In 1912 Mr. Crosbie 
founded the magazine Theosophy, a re-incarnation of 
Mr. Judge’s Path. He died in 1919, but during his entire 
period of active Theosophical work, he labored to restore 
the calumniated reputations of H.P.B. and Mr. Judge, 
convinced that until their unique status was recognized 
by Theosophists at large, no return to the Source of 
the Movement and no continuity of the original effort 
could succeed. From the very beginning Mr. Crosbie 
and his associates made no distinctions of organization 
and recognized ‘‘as Theosophists all who are engaged in 


PRESENT AND FUTURE 703 


the true service of Humanity,’’ regardless of dissensions 
or differences of individual opinion. The parent United 
Lodge disclaimed absolutely any authority over its own 
associates or over any other group, and itself has never 
had any formal organization whatever, in strict accord- 
ance with the model indicated in H.P.B.’s Prelumimary 
Memorandum and Judge’s Address from the T.S. in A., 
to the European Theosophists in 1895. The genius 
and work of the parent United Lodge has been increas- 
ingly adopted, both by individual Theosophists within 
and without the various formal societies, and by groups 
of students in many cities. These various United Lodges, 
individual Associates, and independent Groups having 
the same aim, purpose, and teaching, are in fraternal 
affiliation, and in amity with all men everywhere who are 
loyal to the great Founders of the Theosophical Move- 
ment, and who are or may be interested in preserving 
its integrity and promoting its Objects. All these bodies 
and individuals in sympathy with them are distinguish- 
able by their strict allegiance to the Theosophy of H.P.B. 
and Mr. Judge and by the impersonality and freedom 
from discord which has characterized this movement 
since its commencement. The magazine Theosophy, for 
example, has never contained a signed original article, 
its contributors preserving a complete personal 
anonymity. The work thus forced to rest upon its inher- 
ent merit, and not on the authority or influence of any 
person or organization, has in recent years attracted a 
large attention among Theosophical and kindred stu- 
dents throughout the world. If maintained in its original 
and present purity and harmony, it should tend increas- 
ingly to restore coherence and unity, in fact if not in 
name, among all those who would call themselves 
Theosophists. 

Remains to be touched upon a factor not always or 
often taken into account, even by earnest Theosophical 
students—the ‘‘change going on in the Buddhi and Manas 
of the race.’’ With each generation the change in the 
character of the Incarnating Egos becomes more pro- 
nounced. It is the teaching of Theosophy that Humanity 


704 THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT 


as a whole (incarnate and discarnate at any given time) 
is divided, in respect of Spiritual and Intellectual evo- 
lution, into many, many different grades. In descending 
eycles, nationally, of a civilization, or racially, the more 
advanced Egos retire from incarnation, and more and 
more inferior classes take their place. This is the Kali 
Yuga for any such nation, race, or civilization. On 
the other hand, these cycles overlap, like the ‘‘seven ages 
of man’’ individually, and the beginnings of new cycles 
are made long before the completion of the old. Thus, 
it is taught that although for a million years past the 
‘‘Wifth Great Race’’ has been on the ascending arc, while 
the ‘‘Fourth Great Race’’ passed its perihelion millions 
of years ago, nevertheless the great majority of earth’s 
populations at present still belong to the decadent rem- 
nants of the ‘‘Fourth Race.’’ With regard to the im- 
mediate future the teaching of Theosophy is that ad- 
vanced Egos of the ‘‘Fifth Sub-Race’”’ and ‘‘forerun- 
ners’’ of the Sixth are already seeking incarnation in 
Kurope and America—more specifically in the latter. It 
is the increasing presence of Egos of these types—the 
Pioneers who created the great nations of our own im- 
mediate past (within the last ten thousand years or so) 
—that is indicated, not only by the rapid acceleration of 
progress of every kind during recent centuries, not only 
by the mission of H.P.B. and her immediate predeces- 
sors, but indicated here and now on every hand by the 
‘‘psychic awakening’’ which is increasingly turning for 
exploration, experiment, and conquest, to the ‘‘world 
invisible. ’’ 

If the recurrent impulse of the race in the direction 
of the psychic and the truly Spiritual is to be aided by 
true guidance and direction on the part of Theosophists, 
it must of necessity come about through a return and 
adherence to the program of the Masters of the Wisdom- 
Religion. That can be ascertained only by consulting the 
writings of H. P. Blavatsky, the Letters which came 
through her from those Masters, and those who were 
true to her and her great Cause. There is no doubt about 
that program. It excludes the idea that she founded 


PRESENT AND FUTURE 705 


eitaer the Society or its Esoteric Section as a ‘‘School 
for Occultism.’’ Her and her Masters’ insistent note | 
was: ‘‘Let theosophists and theosophical societies flour- | 
ish on their moral worth, and not by phenomena made | 
so often degrading.’’ They worked, and all in sympa- ‘ 
thy with Their great purpose must work, to supply the 
world with a system of philosophy which gives a sure 
and logical basis for ethics. There is no basis for morals 
in phenomena, because a man might learn to do the most 
wonderful things by the aid of Occult forces and yet at 
the same time be the very worst of men. Our destiny, 
as Theosophists, is to continue the wide work of the 
past in affecting literature and thought throughout the 
world, while our ranks see many changing quantities but 
always holding those who remain true to the program. 
These sage words of Mr. Judge, written soon after the 
death of H.P.B., are of unimpaired and unchanging 
value to ‘‘all true Theosophists of every country and 
of every race.’’ 


THE END 





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